Autumn is here, grey skies and - of course - more Grey Belt.
Following the release of the draft NPPF, we have looked again at our post-election research, which indicated that up to 300,000 homes could be built on vacant, derelict, or previously developed land in the green belt.
Our latest analysis indicates that nearly 150,000 ha of land could become potential Grey Belt sites. Using some rough development metrics, this could deliver between 2.5 and 4 million homes using less than 10% of the country’s green belt.
Of these sites, around 50,000 ha are located in LPAs where the presumption in favour currently applies, and where development in the green belt will no longer be considered to be inappropriate.
Finally, due to the likely impact of the updated Standard Method for Calculating Housing Need, an additional 43 LPAs may fall under the presumption in favour in the coming years, meaning that development will no longer be inappropriate on an extra 35,000 ha of this potential Grey Belt land.
How did we get here? In the following sections, we'll explain our second approach to untangling the uncertainties of the Grey Belt, helping you gain a clearer understanding of the potential opportunities that could drive much needed development right across the country.
But first, let’s make sure we’ve got the basics of the Grey Belt covered.