‘Greybelt’ plans unveiled to accelerate new housebuilding

Labour is expected to set out five “golden rules” for building on the green belt in an effort to boost housebuilding while improving “genuine green spaces”.

Sir Keir Starmer said building on the green belt is unavoidable if enough homes are to be built.

Rules to be laid out by Labour today prioritise using previously developed brownfield sites and areas of ugly or poor-quality land that the party has dubbed “grey belt” for new buildings. But they also include releasing some green belt land in areas without enough brownfield sites and where that land is of poor quality, such as in Tottenham, north London, where a development was blocked because a disused petrol station was designated as green belt.

“Labour supports brownfield-first policies. But we must be honest, we cannot build the homes Britain needs without also releasing some land currently classed as green belt,” Sir Keir said.

“We’ll prioritise ugly, disused grey belt land, and set tough new conditions for releasing that land. Our golden rules will also ensure any grey belt development delivers affordable homes, new infrastructure and improved green spaces.”

Labour has previously pledged to build 1.5 million homes over the course of the next Parliament, replicating the Conservatives’ 2019 promise to build 300,000 homes per year. Blaming the Conservatives for creating a “housing emergency”, Sir Keir said his party would “get tough on the blockers”.

Labour said it would require homes built on released land to provide at least 50 per cent affordable housing and include plans to improve public services and local infrastructure. The party will also rule out building on “genuine nature spots” and will require developers to include improvements to existing green spaces in their plans.

Deputy leader Angela Rayner said grey belt land “should not be off limits while local people are kept off the housing ladder”, adding that much of the green belt “isn’t green, rolling hills, but poor-quality scrubland, mothballed on the outskirts of town”.

Housebuilders have welcomed Labour’s plans, with National Housing Federation chief executive Kate Henderson saying it is “right to consider how our approach to the green belt can better serve our country and our communities”.

The chairman of Natural England, Tony Juniper, has backed limited building on the green belt, telling The Guardian last year an “oppositional mindset” did not reflect reality.