Richborough Estates specialises in identifying brownfield & greenfield development opportunities for residential and commercial use.
Richborough Estates specialises in identifying brownfield & greenfield development opportunities for residential and commercial use.
Richborough Estates specialises in identifying brownfield & greenfield development opportunities for residential and commercial use.
Richborough Estates specialises in identifying brownfield & greenfield development opportunities for residential and commercial use.
green belt land
Green belts are usually an element of national planning policy, expressed through County Structure Plans. However, there are various different measures and schemes which have been referred to as 'greenbelt' and not all of them are the same. The principle was established in 1955. Furthermore, green belts are growing still. Between 1979 and 1993 the green belt area designated in England doubled.
The principle is that a certain area around a metropolis has certain controls against development taking place. Green belt boundaries are laid out in Local Plans. The Local Plan is the document produced by the planning authority to provide a policy for planning decisions. Land included in the green belt must contribute to one or more of the five purposes of the green belt set out in Planning Policy Guidance Note 2, also known as PPG2:
- To check the unrestricted sprawl of built-up areas
- To safeguard the surrounding countryside from further encroachment
- To prevent neighbouring towns from merging into one another
- To preserve the special character of historic towns
- To assist in urban regeneration
You will notice that no explicit mention is made of nature conservation. The term 'Green' in this case does not have that meaning, although it is often wrongly thought to do so. Green belt were so called long before the word 'green' gained the wider use it has today.
PPG2 also states that green belt boundaries should be drawn so that they endure, and will not need to be altered at the end of the plan period. This normally means that land is excluded which it is not necessary to keep permanently open, even if there is no known intention or need to develop the land in the foreseeable future. PPG2 recommends that readily identifiable boundaries should be used whenever possible, such as roads, hedges, streams or belts of trees.
Richborough has experience in promoting green belt land through the planning system. Even though the main characteristics of green belt is permanence, green belt reviews can be undertaken through the preparation of Local Plans and there is also “exceptional circumstances” justification for developing in the green belt.
