An additional 4.6 million new homes could be built on “neither beautiful nor agriculturally productive” green belt land, according to a new report from the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS).
The Future of the Green Belt report, which draws on a full spatial survey of 16 green belts across England, suggests there are “swathes of previously developed or low-quality land within a 15-minute walk of existing railway lines.”
While 16 green belts, which cover 1,633,220 hectares the CPS said there has been “little scrutiny of the quality of land they are protecting.”
“Relatively modest tweaks” to grey belt policy by expanding the radius to 1,200m, or 15 minutes walk, including land near train lines rather than just train stations, cutting excessive affordable housing quotas and building to gentle density standards, would hugely increase its impact, without damaging any of the land that all agree should be protected.
Co-author of the report, Robert Colvile said: “The green belt is one of the most controversial topics in policy, but also one of the least understood.
“As this paper conclusively shows, it has strangled the expansion of our great cities, in the name of preserving land that is often neither beautiful nor agriculturally productive.
“Our report conclusively shows that there is significant space for sensitive development on the green belt.”
Colvile referred to plans outlined under Kier Starmer’s Labour government to “free up limited land for housing”, adding that this report could allow current prime minister Andy Burnham to go further and create “millions of new homes” while importantly still “protecting all the elements of the green belt that people love”.
The research suggests some 33,000 hectares of unprotected low-quality agricultural land and 115,000 hectares of unprotected medium-quality land is situated within a walking distance of existing railway lines; enough to build 700,000, and 2.4 million homes respectively if developed to the government’s minimum density,
The advocacy group added there was significant potential for development in London green belt space near existing railway infrastructure, which could add a further 1.1 million homes at low suburban densities.
CPS research fellow and co-author of the report, Dr Samuel Hughes, said the research shows with housebuilding we should “learn from what worked before”.
Hughes said: “’Historically, we focused development along rail lines to create beautiful homes, built in a way that helped to relieve pressure of housing in our cities without compromising the features of the English countryside.
“The green belt as it stands today strangles our major towns and cities and protects land which is not beautiful or useful in its current form.
“Releasing targeted parcels of well-connected land for reasonable development can help safeguard the countryside, assist in urban regeneration, and relieve pressure on our overheated housing market.”
