Devastating ‘grey belt’ impact revealed in our new report

Our new joint report by CPRE Hertfordshire and the London Green Belt Council reveals the devastating impact of the government’s introduction of grey belt.

The report uncovers that 83% of planning appeals on sites in the London Metropolitan Green Belt between February and December 2025 were permitted specifically on grey belt grounds. This is over twice the proportion that were granted over the previous ten years on any basis. And yet, as the report shows, this sacrifice of Green Belt is unnecessary because there are over 1.4 million homes already with planning permission since 2007 which have yet to be built. This figure combined with the number of brownfield sites yet to be developed, would on its own easily surpass the Government’s target to build 1.5 million new homes.

The report details a number of solutions and recommendations that the Government must follow if we are to stop this massacre of our countryside – vital for our health, wildlife and the environment.

Download and read the full report.

Read the report