Cautious optimism for the Green Belt… but dismay in Welwyn Hatfield

Recently we’ve seen reasons for optimism around protection of the Green Belt. But sadly this is not the case in Welwyn Hatfield Borough where, much to our dismay, the Council is proceeding with its public consultation on Main Modifications to the well-advanced Local Plan.

If adopted, the Local Plan will unnecessarily allocate huge amounts of Green Belt land for development. We urge all local residents to contact their Councillors and ask them to uphold their commitment to protect the Green Belt, in line with the Government’s clearly stated intentions.

The national direction of travel

Ministerial statements over the last two years have consistently reiterated the Government’s strong support for protection of the Green Belt.

Most recently the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities published a Statement on 6^th December 2022 which noted “It will be up to local authorities, working with their communities, to determine how many homes can actually be built, taking into account what should be protected in each area—be that our precious Green Belt or national parks” (Hansard: Planning System and Levelling Up Bill: Community Control. 6.12.22).

Further, the recently published National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) prospectus for public consultation includes amendments which remove any requirement for Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) to review Green Belt boundaries purely to accommodate housing need calculated on the basis of either the standard method or an alternative method. The Secretary of State has indicated that the proposed amendments will be introduced in the near future.

The Secretary of State also wrote “Where authorities are well-advanced in producing a new plan, but the constraints which I have outlined mean that the amount of land to be released needs to be reassessed, I will give those places a two year period to revise their plan against the changes we propose and to get it adopted.”

Local authorities are not expected to review the Green Belt

We think this is as clear as clear can be. Local authorities are not expected to review the Green Belt in order to deliver housing and not expected to meet housing need in full where there are genuine constraints. And a two year grace period to reassess and revise any well-advanced plans, such as that in Welwyn Hatfield Borough where just over 79% of the land area is designated protected land in the Green Belt.

The situation in Mole Valley District, Surrey

In acknowledgement of the Secretary of State’s statements and the pending amendments to the NPPF, many other other local authorities across England are taking stock. These include Teignbridge District Council in Devon, South Staffordshire Council, North Somerset Council, Gedling Borough Council in Nottinghamshire, both the Horsham District Council and the Wealden District Council in West Sussex, and Mole Valley District Council in Surrey.

Of particular interest for Welwyn Hatfield Borough is the situation in Mole Valley in Surrey. Mole Valley District has a considerable amount of Green Belt land. They have a well-advanced Local Plan and just before Christmas were about to go out to public consultation on the Main Modifications.

But unlike Welwyn Hatfield Council, the Mole Valley Councillors have delayed this consultation. The Council has instead said it is planning to ask the Planning Inspector to remove all of the Green Belt sites from their submitted draft Local Plan, citing the Government’s proposed changes to the NPPF.

The situation in Welwyn Hatfield

As local residents are only too well aware, the submitted local plan in Welwyn Hatfield Borough has been under examination by the Planning Inspector for several years, with the main point of contention being the proposed release of many Green Belt sites for development. There has been considerable, ongoing local opposition to the release of these sites.

Like the Mole Valley Council, the Welwyn Hatfield Council had been due to meet in December to decide whether to proceed with a public consultation on the recommended Main Modifications to the plan.

Unlike the Mole Valley Council, the Welwyn Hatfield Council decided to press ahead. The result is the currently pending consultation which opened on 4 January and will close on 15 February. The version of the plan being consulted on continues to include a large number of Green Belt sites for development.

We are deeply dismayed that the Welwyn Hatfield Council have determined to press ahead with their plan.

We will be responding to the consultation, making clear our view that the Council should heed the Government’s pending changes to the NPPF that will provide even stronger protection for the Green Belt.

We are also encouraging all of our members and local residents throughout Welwyn Hatfield Borough to urge their Councillors to take into consideration the latest guidance from the Government and to hold firm in their commitment to protect the Green Belt, in line with the Government’s clear intentions. There is no justification for the unnecessary allocation of Green Belt land for development.

Update 15 February 2023

We have submitted our comments in response to the Main Modifications consultation, these are available to download.