Mayor defies Starmer on green belt housing

Labour pair clash as Khan says he is committed to protecting land despite leader’s building pledge

SADIQ KHAN and Sir Keir Starmer have publicly clashed over the Labour leader’s plan to build housing on the green belt.

The Mayor of London has said he is “committed to protecting” the capital’s green belt and that even “derelict and unsightly” parts of it should be shielded from development. Sir Keir said councils should be given the ability to build on certain areas of the green belt as he vowed that a Labour government would be on the side of the “builders not blockers”.

“We need to have that discussion,” he said. “But it cannot be reduced to a simple discussion of will you or will you not build on the green belt. This is why it’s important for local areas to have the power to decide where housing is going to be.”

In a subsequent interview with the BBC, he said: “We would make those tough choices and say to local areas, notwithstanding that it’s green belt, if it’s a car park or similar land which doesn’t affect the beauty of our countryside … then we’ll change the planning rules, we’ll give you the powers to do that.”

However, asked yesterday about the Mayor’s stance in light of Sir Keir’s comments, a spokesman for Mr Khan pointed to his London Plan, a strategy drawn up in 2021 to inform planning decisions in the capital for the next two decades.

The plan is emphatic in its support for the green belt and appears to rule out Sir Keir’s proposal to build on “land which doesn’t affect the beauty of our countryside”.

It states: “Openness and permanence are essential characteristics of the green belt, but ... some parts of the green belt do not provide significant benefits to Londoners as they have become derelict and unsightly. This is not, however, an acceptable reason to allow development to take place.

“These derelict sites may be making positive contributions to biodiversity, flood prevention and climate resilience.

“The Mayor will work with boroughs and other strategic partners to enhance access to the green belt and to improve the quality of these areas in ways that are appropriate within the green belt.”

Mr Khan’s spokesman said: “The Mayor is committed to protecting London’s green belt.

“The Mayor believes that where building is allowed on the green belt it should be very limited and the Mayor’s London Plan is clear that green belt boundaries should be changed only in exceptional circumstances.”

The disagreement is the most significant split between the two Labour politicians since Mr Khan said in January that the UK should consider rejoining the EU single market and customs union, which Sir Keir has ruled out.

Despite Mr Khan reiterating his support for the green belt, the Tories are likely to try to use Sir Keir’s policy against the Mayor in the run-up to next year’s mayoral election.

Theresa Villiers, the former environment secretary who is the MP for the London seat of Chipping Barnet, said Labour’s policy on the green belt was “another important reason for people to come out and vote against them in the suburbs in particular”.

“The green belt has protected London and given it a real green lung,” she said. “To see that ripped up is really worrying.”

She added that “reiterating strong support for green belt protections” should be “part of the platform” for whoever emerges as the Tories’ mayoral candidate.

Andrew Boff, a London Assembly member who is running for the nomination, has said that brownfield sites on the green belt should be protected.