City girdles

The zones that aim to stop urban sprawl

Green belt areas, in which local planning authorities cannot approve development, were established in 1955 to stop urban sprawl.

These areas, which have never been built on, are designed to conserve the countryside around cities. They include 14 areas covering 13 per cent of England.

In the year from April 2017 there was a fall of 790 hectares (0.05 per cent) in the area of green belt.