Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the process is by which land that has been removed from the green belt can be returned to the green belt.

Local authorities are responsible for creating and protecting Green Belt. Our National Planning Policy Framework states that a local authority can take land out of Green Belt only in exceptional circumstances, through the local plan process. Similarly, if a local authority considers that certain land would, and should, serve the purposes of Green Belt as set out in the Framework, it could propose the new designation as a policy in a revised local plan, and consult the local community. After any further revision, the draft plan would be submitted for formal examination in public by an independent Planning Inspector, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State. The plan (including any new Green Belt boundary) is checked thoroughly to confirm whether it is sound: that is, positively prepared, justified, effective, and consistent with the Framework.