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Planning consideration

Greenbelt

An area of open land around a city that cannot be built on

Important

We are currently designing this consideration. You can view the latest updates here.

Design stage
On the platform
Tags

View a glossary of tags

Github
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Synonyms
  • Green belt
Legislation
No legislation added
Expected number of records
181
Frequency of updates
Ad hoc
Useful links
Technical specification
No specification added

Background information

Each planning consideration we work on passes through the stages of our design process, where we research and answer specific questions to help us collect more information.

Backlog

  • Who asked for 'Greenbelt' data?

    Claire, planning policy SME

  • What is the driver for the request?

    Existing planning requirement

  • Which 2024 focus area does the request support?

    • Faster local plans

Screen

  • What is the 'Greenbelt' consideration?

    A green belt is a designated area of countryside around cities and towns, protected from most forms of development. Its primary purpose is to prevent urban sprawl and preserve the character of existing settlements, essentially acting as a buffer between urban areas and the surrounding countryside.

  • Is there legislation that defines 'Greenbelt'?

    Yes

    • What is the legislation that defines 'Greenbelt'?

    • What is the specific part of the legislation that describes how a 'Greenbelt' gets designated?

    • What is the specific part of the legislation that requires the publication of 'Greenbelt'?

  • Who, in law, is responsible for the planning consideration or makes decisions about 'Greenbelt'?

    Local Planning Authorities

  • Which organisations do we think should publish the data?

    • Local authorities

  • Is the Greenbelt a trigger?

    Yes

    • What needs to be done because Greenbelt has acted as the trigger?

      A 'Very Special Circumstances' Case would need to be made and submitted to the planning authority. This might be a standalone document, or may be part of the Planning Statement submitted as part of a planning application.

  • Is the Greenbelt something to consult during plan making?

    Yes

    • Provide information about when Greenbelt is used during plan making

      During plan-making, local planning authorities may review their green belt parcels, to identify how well each parcel is performing against the 5 purposes set out within the NPPF. Where a local planning authority might identify a need to release a parcel, priority should be given to previously developed land, or grey belt which is not previously developed, and lastly consider other green belt land.

  • Is there any Greenbelt data already available?

    Yes

  • Do we think the data should come from a single source?

    While this data is available nationally from a single source, this data is likely to be out of date. Local planning authorities update their green belt boundaries through plan-making, and therefore the data identified would need to be constantly updated.

  • Will a data standard be required?

    Yes

Research

  • Do we understand the lifecycle of a Greenbelt?

  • Do we understand how the data is created/produced?

  • Where will or should the data be used?

    This data will be used by a variety of people/organisations, including local planning authorities who might be interested in neighbouring green belt boundaries, developers/landowners/site promoters, as well as local communities.

  • Grey Belt, Previously Developed Land, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Local Green Space, a National Landscape, a National Park (or within the Broads Authority) or defined as Heritage Coast, irreplaceable habitats, designated heritage assets (and other heritage assets of archaeological interest) and areas at risk of flooding or coastal change.

  • Who are the statutory consultees for Greenbelt?

  • Other than the statutory consultees who are the primary users of Greenbelt? How do we expect them to use Greenbelt?

    This data will be used by a variety of people/organisations, including local planning authorities who might be interested in neighbouring green belt boundaries, developers/landowners/site promoters, as well as local communities.

  • What are the planning needs for this data?

    There are many different planning needs for the Green Belt data, particularly as it is high on the new government's agenda.

    Having accurate, up-to-date green belt data on the platform will be valuable for a variety of users. During plan-making, local planning authorities may review their green belt parcels, to identify how well each parcel is performing against the 5 purposes set out within the NPPF.

    • Local planning authorities might be interested in neighbouring green belt boundaries, to understand spatial growth patterns and implications
    • Developers/landowners/site promoters will be interested in green belt boundaries to understand the implication of the presence of green belt on sites for development
    • Local communities will be interested in green belt boundaries to understand the land designations present and the impact of these on likely development

  • Who are the types of users who might benefit from having access to Greenbelt data?

    This data will be used by a variety of people/organisations, including local planning authorities who might be interested in neighbouring green belt boundaries, developers/landowners/site promoters, as well as local communities.

  • What are some potential uses of Greenbelt data?

    There are many different planning needs for the Green Belt data, particularly as it is high on the new government's agenda.

    Having accurate, up-to-date green belt data on the platform will be valuable for a variety of users. During plan-making, local planning authorities may review their green belt parcels, to identify how well each parcel is performing against the 5 purposes set out within the NPPF.

    • Local planning authorities might be interested in neighbouring green belt boundaries, to understand spatial growth patterns and implications
    • Developers/landowners/site promoters will be interested in green belt boundaries to understand the implication of the presence of green belt on sites for development
    • Local communities will be interested in green belt boundaries to understand the land designations present and the impact of these on likely development

  • What's the value of adding Greenbelt data to the platform?

    There are many different planning needs for the Green Belt data, particularly as it is high on the new government's agenda.

    Having accurate, up-to-date green belt data on the platform will be valuable for a variety of users. During plan-making, local planning authorities may review their green belt parcels, to identify how well each parcel is performing against the 5 purposes set out within the NPPF.

    • Local planning authorities might be interested in neighbouring green belt boundaries, to understand spatial growth patterns and implications
    • Developers/landowners/site promoters will be interested in green belt boundaries to understand the implication of the presence of green belt on sites for development
    • Local communities will be interested in green belt boundaries to understand the land designations present and the impact of these on likely development

  • From what we have learnt so far are there any risks to making Greenbelt data available?

    There are risks in presenting out of date green belt boundary information, as green belt boundaries are highly contencious and could lead to organisations making decisions based upon inaccurate information.

3 updates

  • Claire Miller (25 February 2025)

    As part of the Winter 2024 planning reforms, multiple changes to green belts were made. These include, the introduction of a new category of green belt, called the grey belt, which essentially includes existing green belt land which has been previously developed, or is green belt land which doesn't contribute strongly to some of the purposes of green belt.

    There are also changes to the circumstances that allow for development on green belt, including when a LPA is unable to meet their housing targets without reviewing green belt boundaries.

    If LPAs do then decide to allow development on land which has been released from the green belt, there are rules which set out that the development must contribute towards affordable housing and infrastructure provision (the golden rules).

  • Claire Miller (26 September 2024)

    As per some research we did, summarised in this blog on an analysis of local plans and local area requirements, we're confident that this consideration acts as an INPUT to the process of creating a local plan.

  • elliotrowen (06 September 2024)

    The frequency of update was listed as 'ad hoc', as greenbelt data is updated through the Local Plan process.

Last updated: 2025-05-14 07:00:10