The green belt is the most widely recognised part of the English planning system, but also one of the most widely misunderstood. There are numerous pervading misconceptions, which continue to exacerbate the housing crisis:

“The green belt is a mark of high quality countryside” (it isn’t)

The green belt is just a planning policy designed to manage the growth of cities; it doesn’t denote landscape, ecological or any other quality. In fact, much of the green belt consists of previously developed land, poor quality grassland and roadside verges.

Countryside quality is covered by other designations. For example, high quality landscapes are denoted by National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, ecological quality is covered by designations like Sites of Special Scientific Interest and National Nature Reserves. Those areas quite rightly have their own protections from development - but they aren’t green belt.

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