Template:Courier-OCT-25-3
WHEN IS GREEN BELT NOT GREEN?
The creation of a new land category, called Grey Belt, is presenting councillors on planning committees with a complex maze of new concepts to navigate. Grey Belt land is defined as "land in the Green Belt comprising previously developed land and/or any other land" that does "not strongly contribute to any of a set of specific purposes.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework, which brings into force the concept of Grey Beit, lists five purposes of the Green Belt, which protects Claygate from becoming consumed by urban sprawl. They are: to check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas; to prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another; to assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment; to preserve the setting and special character of historic towns; and to assist in urban regeneration, by encouraging recycling of derelict and other urban land.
But Green Belt land that only safeguards the countryside from encroachment or could be used to encourage the recycling of derelict land is now classed as Grey Belt and could be built on. Other categories of specially protected land, plus areas subject to flooding or coastal changes, are also safeguarded, while not being designated as Grey Belt.
This begs the question as to what "not strongly contributing to Green Belt purposes means. For this. there is the Green Belt Guidance issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. This advises planning authorities that areas performing strongly in preventing the sprawl of large built up areas (such as Greater London) are "likely to be free of existing development, and lack physical feature(s) in reasonable proximity that could restrict and contain development". They are also likely to be adjacent to or near a large built-up area; and, if developed, would create an incongruous pattern of development, such as an extended "finger" of development into the Green Belt.
Amid all this complexity, the Parish Council remains "opposed to any reduction in the designated Green Belt and to any proposed development that detracts from its amenity value".
The concept of Grey Belt is clearly designed to justify the release of some areas of Green Belt for development. This is a prospect likely to be faced by most planning authorities outside London, dealing with massive increases in their housing targets, Government policy on housing seems demand-driven, with little consideration given to the supply side, such as availability of land and skilled tradesmen to build houses.
- Unsurprisingly, the application to build 60 houses on Green Belt land north of Raleigh Drive, which had been rejected in 2023-4, reappeared for determination under the new National Planning Policy Framework. Elmbridge Borough Council's full Planning Committee recently voted to refuse the new application, but decided to consider it again at a subsequent meeting. Planning officers have recommended that the application should be granted.
- The Planning Committee has continued its work of reviewing all planning applications for Claygate, most of which are from householders seeking home extensions. Several applications have been refused recently by Elmbridge on grounds of "bulk" or "mass" - in some cases where the Parish Council had no objection. This is is an area of professional judgment by planning officers, whose views may sometimes differ from the Parish Council's.
- Two applications have recently come before Elmbridge's East Area Planning Sub-Committee:
- One, for development of part of the front garden of 31 Stevens Lane, to which the Parish Council had objected, was refused on the same grounds that an almost identical application for the same site had been refused by a planning inspector.
- But Borough Councillors felt unable to refuse an application to convert the former Winning Horse pub into a pair of semi-detached houses with a detached house behind, although the Winning Horse building is listed as an Asset of Community Value. This is disappointing, especially for the Claygate Community Benefit Society, which had hoped to buy the pub and make it a community facility.
- The Committee is also keeping a close eye on proposals for a major residential development, known as "Hook Park", on admittedly degraded Green Belt land just across the A3 in Hook in the Borough of Kingston. We have serious concerns about how traffic would access the site and about its density, involving eight-storey blocks next to the A3. At this stage, it seems as though even an outline planning application is several months away.
