Housing minister Matthew Pennycook will give evidence to Lords Grey Belt inquiry this afternoon. This is the final evidence session in the Committee’s inquiry into the Grey Belt.
At 4.30pm, the House of Lords Built Environment Committee will welcome Pennycook, along with William Burgon, director of planning at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
This session is open to the public. It will be held in Committee Room 4 of the House of Lords and streamed live on Parliament TV.
Questions are likely to cover:
+ When and how grey belt policy was developed and what alternatives were considered
+ What success will look like for the grey belt initiative, both in terms of timelines and delivery
+ The potential scale of the housing development that will be enabled through the release of grey belt land
+ The types of location that will be released for grey belt development
+ The likely size of sites released as grey belt land
+ Whether the definition of grey belt land provides sufficient certainty to avoid court delays
The new government has set itself a target of building 1.5 million homes over the next five years. However, developers have warned that building only on brownfield sites will not be sufficient to meet this target. As a result, the Government has proposed revising the National Planning Policy Framework and has conducted a consultation on its proposals for releasing Green Belt land. A key element of its proposals is the creation of a new designation of “Grey Belt” land.
This short inquiry aims to gain a better understanding of what will constitute Grey Belt land, how this new designation might contribute to meeting the Government’s housing targets, and what sustainable development within the Grey Belt might look like.
During the inquiry, the committee has considered the government’s proposed ‘golden rules’ for ensuring that development on Green Belt land released under these processes benefits the public. These include the inclusion of affordable housing, infrastructure, and enhanced green space in any such development. The committee has also investigated the potential impact of these golden rules on the likelihood of successful development in the Grey Belt.
