60th anniversary poll shows clear support for Green Belt

August 2015 was the 60th anniversary of the Government policy to protect the Green Belt.  To coincide with this, the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has launched a new campaign, Our Green Belt . We launched the campaign by publishing an Ipsos MORI poll showing that nearly two-thirds of people surveyed believe that Green Belt land should not be built on. The poll results are also a strong rebuttal of the sustained campaign by a number of developers, economists and think thanks for a major relaxation of the policy.

64% of people agree the Green Belt should be protected, while just 17% disagree. Such strong support for Green Belt is demonstrated across a range of different groups, including people with children aged 5 and under, those renting from a local authority, and those on low incomes. More than six out of ten people (62%) who live in towns and cities support the protection of the Green Belt – this casts doubt on the claims of critics that Green Belts do not benefit people who live in urban areas.

Green Belts are supported strongly regardless of whether people own or rent their own home. Developers have argued that Green Belts only benefit property owners. Yet a clear majority of people in social or privately rented accommodation support protection of Green Belt land (57% agree versus 18% who disagree).

The anniversary poll comes just weeks after the Government re-emphasised its support for Green Belt protection at the launch of its Productivity Plan in July 2015. Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne wrote: “We will always protect the green belt and make sure planning decisions are made by local people.”

Despite this support and existing protections, local communities have repeatedly found themselves fighting proposals to build on Green Belt land. CPRE research shows that 226,000 houses are currently planned for Green Belt land.

In response to this threat, CPRE calls on the Government to:
 

• be more specific on the limited circumstances in which Green Belt boundaries can be changed through local plans;
• call in or direct local authorities to refuse damaging developments in the Green Belt that are not identified in existing local plans; and
• target public funding, through organisations such as Natural England, to increase the quality of and access to Green Belt.
   

CPRE’s campaignaims to show why people value the Green Belt by inviting the public to submit photos and stories to a digital wall showing how they use and experience it. We have also published a Green Belt ‘myth-busting’ document to demonstrate why arguments to build on the Green Belt are misguided.