Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to issue a formal definition of a Large Built-Up Area for the purposes of planning decisions.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local planning authorities (LPAs) must necessarily exercise judgement to interpret and apply national planning policy to their particular local circumstances.
The government published revised Green Belt guidance on 27 February 2025, to help LPAs review their Green Belt and identify grey belt land. This guidance sets out key considerations for informing judgements on the contribution land makes to checking the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that neighbourhood plans effectively safeguard the environment and green belt in local areas.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
By designating Local Green Spaces and setting expectations for development in their area, neighbourhood plans can ensure development is environmentally acceptable and preserves access to nature.
Local planning authorities, in consultation with their communities and any neighbourhood planning bodies, decide whether land should be designated as green belt in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The Framework permits neighbourhood plans to amend green belt boundaries where strategic policies set out in a local development plan or spatial development strategy justify changes.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions her Department has had with Birmingham City Council on the potential impact of proposed changes to green belt protections on (a) access to green space and (b) biodiversity.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework is clear about the importance of conserving and enhancing the natural and environment
Planning policies and decisions should contribute to, and enhance, the natural and local environment by minimising impacts on and providing net gains for biodiversity, including by establishing coherent ecological networks that are more resilient to current and future pressures and incorporating features which support priority or threatened species such as swifts, bats, and hedgehogs.
The revised Framework published on 12 December 2024 makes clear that ‘Golden Rules’ should apply to major development including the provision of housing on land released from the Green Belt through plan preparation or review, or on sites in the Green Belt subject to a planning application. These ‘Golden Rules’ include necessary improvements to local or national infrastructure.
It is for local planning authorities to apply national policy when preparing local development plans or determining planning applications, including in relation to the Green Belt.
Asked by: Lord Jamieson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Mayor of London press release of 9 May, Mayor: We must build on the green belt to help fix London’s housing crisis, whether the Government’s support for reviewing Green Belt in Greater London includes support for reviewing Metropolitan Open Land in London.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The designation, management and review of Metropolitan Open Land is a matter for the Mayor of London.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the required infrastructure has to be provided before or in parallel with the development when releasing greenbelt land for development.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) published on 12 December 2024 makes clear that ‘Golden Rules’ should apply to major development including the provision of housing on land released from the Green Belt through plan preparation or review, or on sites in the Green Belt subject to a planning application. These ‘Golden Rules’ include necessary improvements to local or national infrastructure.
The point at which infrastructure is delivered is a matter for local planning authorities and will depend on the nature of the site. Requirements can be set out as planning conditions or agreed through section 106 planning obligations.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the implementation of Grey Belt policy aligns with the settlement hierarchy set out in adopted local plans.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department published updated guidance on Green Belt policy on 27 February 2025 to assist local authorities and other decision-makers, including planning inspectors, in determining whether land is grey belt. It can be found on gov.uk here.
It is for decision-makers to consider how best to apply the policy to particular local circumstances.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the interpretation of the definition of Grey Belt by planning inspectors in (a) rural and (b) semi-rural areas.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department published updated guidance on Green Belt policy on 27 February 2025 to assist local authorities and other decision-makers, including planning inspectors, in determining whether land is grey belt. It can be found on gov.uk here.
It is for decision-makers to consider how best to apply the policy to particular local circumstances.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to issue planning practice guidance on the (a) use and (b) interpretation of Grey Belt policy.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department published updated guidance on Green Belt policy on 27 February 2025 to assist local authorities and other decision-makers, including planning inspectors, in determining whether land is grey belt. It can be found on gov.uk here.
It is for decision-makers to consider how best to apply the policy to particular local circumstances.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to map grey belt land.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is for individual local planning authorities to assess if land is grey belt and to determine whether and how to amend Green Belt boundaries through the preparation or updating of plans.
On 27 February 2025, Planning Practice Guidance was published to assist local authorities and other decision-makers, and to support a consistent approach to determining whether land is grey belt. It can be found on gov.uk here. This new guidance will support authorities in producing Local Plans, while also making sure that planning applications and development on suitable grey belt land can proceed in the short-term in areas without an up-to-date plan.
The government has also provided 133 local planning authorities with £70,000 of pump priming funding each to contribute towards the costs of carrying out Green Belt reviews in their areas.
Any alteration to a Green Belt boundary is reported to the Department and the details published on gov.uk in our annual Green Belt statistical release. In addition, the Department publishes statistics on land use change, including estimates of new residential addresses created in Green Belt and other categories of land.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has had discussions with the Mayor of London on whether funding for green belt reviews will be used to review the use of Metropolitan Open Land.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has awarded the Greater London Authority £770,000 to undertake a Green Belt review in conjunction with 11 London boroughs. A further six London boroughs have also each received £70,000 to undertake Green Belt reviews. The precise use of this funding is at the discretion of the recipient authority.
Metropolitan Open Land is a local designation used by the Mayor of London in his London Plan. Policy relating to the designation, as well as the current extent of Metropolitan Open Land, is entirely a matter for the Mayor.