Call to use brownfield sites for development
Chief reporter Martin Shipton looks at the battle to protect greenfield sites in Wales from becoming housing estates
PRESSURE is mounting on the Welsh Government to tighten up planning policy that currently can make it easy for developers to override local wishes and build hundreds of new homes on greenfield sites.
Nigel Dix, a former Labour and now Independent councillor from Blackwood, in Caerphilly county borough, is campaigning with the same group of residents on his home patch as Plaid Cymru’s South Wales East regional AM Steffan Lewis.
They are concerned about plans that could see 300 houses built on farmland.
Mr Dix said: “This is the kind of situation that is affecting communities all over Wales.
“Local development plans have been drawn up indicating how many new homes are needed in local authority areas. Planners come along and apply to build homes on greenfield sites. The council turns the plan down but the developers win on appeal because they can show that the homes they want to build will help towards the housing targets.
“Local residents are unhappy because they are used to walking on paths around the fields. Having countryside nearby that they can access helps their sense of wellbeing.
“Hardly anybody is opposed to building new homes as such, and there’s a recognition that there’s the need for more affordable housing units.
“But the point is that there are plenty of brownfield sites around – disused schools and other public buildings, industrial sites and so on that should be used instead.
“In my area, there are parts of the county borough that are favoured by developers, while others are not. Building homes in less popular areas on brownfield sites could be the catalyst a community needs to regenerate.”
Plaid Cymru’s South Wales East AM Steffan Lewis said: “Public confidence in the local authority’s housing policy is at a crisis point. Local housing needs are clearly not the priority but rather, it is the needs of developers. We need a new approach that works to realistic housing projections, puts empty properties back into use, and protects the natural environment.”
Mr Lewis’ party colleague Sian Gwenllian, the Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Planning, said: “Plaid Cymru has consistently spoken of the need to protect greenfield sites from excessive and unnecessary development. The rights of communities to benefit from green spaces must be protected and enshrined in planning law.
“Current planning policy under this Welsh Government isn’t fit for purpose and has led to poor decisions being made by some local authorities.
“All too often, the planning system is tilted in favour of those who can make the most money out of housing developments, and against the interests of local communities.”
In November 2016 the Welsh Government issued an updated edition of its land use planning policy, which speaks about the provision of green belts and green wedges, but does not state that brownfield housing developments are preferable to greenfield ones.
The document says: “Around towns and cities there is often the need to protect open land. Local planning authorities need to consider establishing green belts and making local designations, such as green wedges.
“Land within a green belt should be protected for a longer period than the current development plan period, whereas green wedge policies should be reviewed as part of the development plan review process.
“Both green belts and green wedges can:
provide opportunities for access to the open countryside;
provide opportunities for outdoor sport and outdoor recreation;
maintain landscape/wildlife interest;
retain land for agriculture, forestry, and related purposes; improve derelict land; and provide carbon sinks and help to mitigate the effects of urban heat islands.”
The policy goes on to point out that the purpose of a green belt is to:
prevent the coalescence of large towns and cities with other settlements;
manage urban form through controlled expansion of urban areas;
assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment;
protect the setting of an urban area; and
assist in urban regeneration by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land.”
It states: “All local planning authorities in parts of Wales which are subject to significant pressures for development must consider the need for green belts.
“Green belts will not necessarily need to extend in a continuous band around an urban area.
“Green belts should be established through development plans.
“Before designating land around an urban area as a green belt, local planning authorities must consider and justify which would be the most appropriate means of protection.
“When including green belt policies in their plans, authorities must demonstrate why normal planning and development management policies would not provide the necessary protection.”