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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government has taken to protect the green belt from development.

This Government is committed to protecting and enhancing the Green Belt and there are strong protections for Green Belt land provided in the National Planning Policy Framework. A local authority can alter the boundary of Green Belt land only in exceptional circumstances and where it can demonstrate that it has fully examined all other reasonable options for meeting its development need.

This means that the authority should show that it has used as much brownfield land as possible, optimised development densities, and discussed with neighbouring authorities whether they could accommodate some of the development needed. The Framework also makes clear that most new building is inappropriate in the Green Belt and should be refused planning permission unless there are very special circumstances.

Some examples of these circumstances are listed in the Framework, such as buildings for agriculture, or limited infilling in villages. The protection of Green Belt land will continue under the reforms of the planning system currently under consideration.