Would better local infrastructure mean less development on greenbelt sites?
Statistics obtained and released by the BBC on 9 June 2015 showed a marked increase in the number of home approvals on greenbelt land since 2009-2010. It emerged that almost 12,000 homes on greenbelt land were approved in 2014-2015, compared to 2,258 homes in 2009-2010.
Rico Wojtulewicz, HBA’s policy advisor, commented:
The HBA believes that the increased trend to build on greenbelt land has been caused by increasing land prices, expanding communities and delays – most crucially – in granting planning consent on non-greenbelt land.
The HBA also considers that the presence of an appropriate infrastructure network is crucial to ensuring that planning consents are granted without the need to build on greenbelt land. Without the backing of an appropriate infrastructure network, projects can experience frequent delays involving debates between local planning authorities and house builders over renegotiated planning applications.
Greater focus by local authorities on keeping local infrastructure fit for purpose would certainly help speed up the planning process, with the added benefit of avoiding development on greenbelt land.
In addition, the HBA is quite keen to stress that smaller sites have the potential to expand communities at a sustainable rate without putting excessive strain on local services and transport.
