Supplementary memorandum from Department
of Communities and Local Government
Thank you for your inviting me to speak to the
Environmental Audit Committee's Homes for the Future inquiry on
3 June 2008.
You asked at the hearing about the ratio of
proposals to change green belt boundaries which had been turned
down. Under national planning policy in Planning Policy Guidance
Note 2 on Green Belts the essential characteristic of Green Belt
is its permanence. Where there is exceptional justification, changes
to the boundary of a Green Belt can be made through the development
plan process, but only after widespread public consultation and
independent scrutiny of the relevant policy.
The Government does not collect data on the
ratio of proposals to amend the Green Belt which are rejected.
However, we do collect statistics from local planning authorities
on the amount of land designated as Green Belt through development
plans in England, by region, and any changes to the amount over
time as new development plans are adopted. These figures are published
regularly. The latest data was set out in the Department's Annual
Report published on the department's website at http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/annualreport08
in May 2008.
AREA OF
DESIGNATED GREEN
BELT LAND
BY REGION
| | |
| | | Hectares
|
Region/ | 2003
| 2004 | 2006 |
2007 | Net charge since 2003
| Percentage change since 2003 |
North East | 66.3 | 71.9
| 71.9 | 73.0 | 6.7
| 10.06 |
| North West | 260.6 | 260.6
| 260.3 | 260.3 | -0.3
| -0.12 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 262.6
| 262.6 | 264.9 | 264.5
| 1.8 | 0.69 |
| East Midlands | 79.5 | 79.5
| 78.9 | 79.0 | -0.5
| -0.65 |
| West Midlands | 269.1 | 269.5
| 269.3 | 268.8 | -0.4
| -0.14 |
| East Anglia | 26.7 | 26.8
| 26.3 | 26.3 | -0.4
| -1.57 |
| London/wider South East | 600.5
| 601.4 | 553.9* | 554.2*
| -46.2 | -7.70 |
| South West | 106.2 | 106.0
| 106.3 | 109.6 | 3.5
| 3.26 |
| Actual Net Change | 1,671.6
| 1,678.2 | 1,631.8
| 1,635.7 | -35.9**
| -2.15 |
* This figure excludes Green Belt in New Forest DC and Test Valley BC (47,300 hectares) which have subsequently been designated as New Forest National Park in 2005.
| | | |
| | |
| Taking into account the 47,300 hectares of Green Belt land designated as New Forest National Park in 2005, there has been a net regional increase of 1,100 hectares (0.18%age change) and at ** a net national increase of 11,400 hectares (0.68%age change) since 2003.
| | | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
|
These figures show that whilst there was an increase in reported
Green Belt land in England in four regions (North East, Yorkshire
and Humber, South East (taking account of the Green Belt designated
as the New Forest National Park and the South West), there was
a slight decrease in the other four regions (North West, East
Midlands, West Midlands and East Anglia).
However, the decreases in recorded green belt land in four
regions are small. In the East Midlands, which saw the largest
reduction, the percentage drop in recorded Green Belt was only
0.65% of the total. In addition, a reduction in recorded Green
Belt does not necessarily mean that actual Green Belt land has
been lost. Most of the changes are due to local authorities employing
improved measurement techniques, principally through a move to
digital mapping. Where real change has occurred, this has been
the result of new local plans being adopted, which must satisfy
the strong tests for protecting Green Belt land, set out in Planning
Policy Guidance Note 2, before land can be removed from the Green
Belt.
Overall, the total amount of Green Belt in England has grown
by around 33,000 hectares since 1997.
I look forward to seeing the Committee's final report and
recommendations to Government once it is published in the autumn.
August 2008
|
