Green Belt
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has conducted an assessment of the potential for "Grey Belt" designations to encourage speculative planning applications on land in an area that does not have an up-to-date Local Plan.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook
The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 and the Green Belt guidance updated on 27 February 2025 do not introduce a definition of large-built up area, town, historic town or village.
In the absence of an up-to-date local plan, there is a high likelihood that development will come forward on a piecemeal and speculative basis, with reduced public engagement and fewer guarantees that it will make the most of an area's potential. It is for these reasons that the government has been clear that we intend to drive local plans to adoption as quickly as possible with a view to achieving universal local plan coverage.
My Department does not collect data on the number of grey belt planning applications approved on appeal. The amount of land designated as Green Belt in England can be found on gov.uk here and the proportion of new homes built on Green Belt land can be found on gov.uk here.
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