Green
Belt is one of the most popular and successful planning policies
on the statute book.
Green Belts are areas of countryside around our major cities where
development can only take place under ‘exceptional circumstances’.
In the West Midlands there are three Green Belts. One round Birmingham,
the Black Country and Coventry, (which extends out as far as towns
such as Rugby, Leamington Spa, Warwick, Alcester, Kidderminster,
Bridgnorth, Telford, Rugeley, Lichfield and Nuneaton), one round
the North Staffordshire conurbation and a few patchy areas around
Burton.
As well as forming rings round our cities, they include important
green wedges stretching into the cities, for example, from Lichfield
to the Sandwell Valley.
Our Green Belts include some of the most beautiful and accessible
countryside in the region, for example, the Clent Hills. However
the role of Green Belts is primarily to stop our cities sprawling
outwards, as they have in areas of countries like America and
Australia.
They help to ensure our cities are compact and sustainable, including
reducing the amount of travel (and hence Carbon dioxide emissions).
But Green Belt is always under threat. In the past, for example,
the growth of the National Exhibition Centre and Birmingham Airport
have eaten deeply into the Meriden Gap, the thin wedge of Green
Belt between Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry. The M6 Toll was
built entirely on Green Belt land.
Now there are new threats. The return of very high housing numbers
threatens to compromise Green Belt around towns such as Lichfield,
which had already had to expand into the countryside. Proposals
for large megadepots would be likely
to be built in Green Belt because of the presence of the M6 Toll,
itself a major incursion into Green Belt. Plans for Strategic
Park and Ride sites also include Green Belt proposals, such as
Brinsford, near Wolverhampton.
CPRE believes such proposals should be resisted and the high standard
of proof needed to build on Green Belt should be maintained. We
also appreciate that not all Green Belt in the West Midlands is
of the same ecological or amenity value. We would like to see
those areas improved for everyone’s benefit, provided it
is not achieved as a quid pro quo for relaxing planning constraints
in the Green Belt.
The need for a specific Green Belt policy for the region will
be reviewed as part of the RSS Phase 3 review. We are arguing
that this needs to cover both environmental and amenity improvements
to the Green Belt and the strategic role of Green Belts in protecting
our cities from sprawl.
CPRE WM has produced it own detailed report on Green Belt which
explains the history, policy and scope of Green Belt in more detail.
Note: Green Belt is commonly confused with
green field land. The later is land which has not been previously
developed, such as open fields and woodland, wherever it is. Green
Belt is a specificaly designated area and may itself include land
which is not green field, for example, old hospital sites. On
such sites redevelopment is often restricted to the footprint
of existing buildings.
16.02.08
