Labour’s ‘grey belt’ rules need to be built on, says real estate

The British Property Federation has described the Labour Party’s “golden rules” for so-called grey belt development as just one step needed in the drive to build more homes and infrastructure. Party leader Sir Keir Starmer will today pledge five rules for development on grey belt land, or neglected green belt space, under Labour: prioritising brownfield land within the green belt; then focusing on “poor-quality and ugly” areas of grey belt, which will be given their own definition; a rule that 50% of housing in any plan must be affordable when plans are released; boosting public services and local infrastructure; and ruling out building on genuine nature spots. BPF chief executive Melanie Leech said: “Labour rightly identifies the potential of ‘grey belt’ land to deliver new homes. This is one of a raft of planning reforms that are needed to boost housing supply, many of which are in our manifesto, ‘Building our Future’. A lot of green belt land is actually very poor quality but perversely has good transport links, and it should be brought to life to provide new homes, jobs and community facilities. “The UK desperately needs more homes and modern critical infrastructure to make the country more productive and sustainable, and today’s announcement is one of many steps needed to get us there.” Roger Mortlock, chief executive at countryside charity CPRE, said: “CPRE has long campaigned for a brownfield-first approach, more genuinely affordable housing, and an end to speculative development. We welcome Labour’s support for these policies. There are enough ‘shovel-ready’ brownfield sites in the UK for 1.2m new homes – this is where we should start. “We are concerned about the rhetoric. The green belt is crucial to solving the climate, nature, and food crises and it is protected by law for a reason. This new approach must be considered against this reality. We must also abandon the existing piecemeal approach and look at the green belt as a whole. If done badly, Labour’s policy could permit landowners to run down land for speculative development. Instead, the green belt needs to deliver affordable homes on brownfield sites, while today’s scrubland can become the woodlands and wetlands of tomorrow.” A survey of 50 housebuilders by Knight Frank found that 70% would prefer a Labour government at the next general election, saying the party is the most capable of enhancing the UK’s land and development market. Knight Frank planning partner Roland Brass said Labour’s five grey belt rules “send a strong political message and demonstrates Labour are willing to tackle long-standing planning matters”. He added: “However, to make the most of this opportunity, Labour’s golden rules need to be joined up with other policies relating to sustainability of location, the environment and impact tests of development in the green belt. Strategic thinking is also required to allow brownfield or grey belt sites to pave the way for more significant opportunities and create the next generation of new towns, garden cities and large sites.” Photo by Adam Vaughan/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock