The green belts most at risk of UK building expansion

The UK government have toyed with the idea of building new homes on green belts to alleviate soaring rents and shortages, but experts have outlined the severe issues this could cause and outlined which areas could be affected.

Last Week, leader of the labour party, Keir Starmer, pledged the political group will become the party of housebuilding by enabling more homes to be built on green belt land, which offer a buffer between towns and the countryside – if they win the election next year.

However, Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has recently ruled out allowing building on the green belt, insisting he wants to ‘make sure our green spaces are protected’. Research shows that green belt land takes up 13% of space in England, displaying the need to preserve it.

Mr Sunak has also dropped plans for mandatory local housing targets as part of a plan to build 300,000 homes a year in response to a revolt by Tory MPs and activists.

Although, under increased amounts of pressure to help with the current housing crisis, experts are unsure the government will stick to its pledge to keep green belt land intact.

A new study conducted by Herts Tools, has revealed that Guildford’s green belt has been rated the most under threat of construction due to their population increase of 9.63% over the last 10 years. Similarly, the towns green belt space of 22,636 hectares could be at risk of building expansion as the area reports that the number of houses built in the area has increased by 80% over the last decade.

Research, which was published last week, has also found Chorley, Thurrock, Epping Forest and Tandbridge follow Guildford as areas vulnerable to potential green belt building expansion in the future. All of the places listed have green belts of over 10,000 hectares and a population increase of at least 7%.

‘Just because there is a green belt that can be built on, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we should. Building on green belts will mean that urban regeneration opportunities are ignored. There is plenty of other land which can be utilised for house building,’ Stefano Lobban, Director at Herts Tools said. ‘The number of long-term empty homes in England has increased by 4.8% over the past year. We should be regenerating pre-used land and buildings, often left neglected and decaying anyway which will breathe new life into our towns and cities. 

Ms Lobban said: ‘Policy regarding green belt land has always stated that restrictions are in place to prevent development from occurring on the area. Urban sprawl is the biggest threat to climate change and many believe the housing crisis won’t be resolved by releasing land.’

Director of Ark Wildlife, Sean McMenemy, said: ‘Construction work can affect the environment in a number of different ways, from threatening wildlife habitats to polluting the surroundings with industrial waste. This is particularly important to address in green belt spaces which are designed to preserve wildlife habitats and stop urban over-expansion. 

‘Once the green belt is breached what’s to stop the onward march of development into ever greater natural space? Wildlife is directly affected by development but breaching or building on green space further fragments wildlife populations and creates damage far beyond ‘this pond’ or ‘that hedgerow’. It disrupts the whole fabric of the connected nature pathways, which are already under immense pressure.’

The latest house building report from the Office of National Statistics shows that in the financial year ending March 2022, there were 204,530 house builds completed in the UK. The area with the highest house-building rate over the past 10 years is Maldon, Essex, which has experienced a 1600% increase in homes built.

This is followed by areas in the North of England including: Harrogate, Preston, Salford and Clackmannanshire in Scotland.

Image: Danist Soh