Greening the Grey Areas

Image: courtesy of MICA Architects

Twenty-seven thousand homes previously denied planning due to greenbelt restrictions could now gain approval under reclassification of 'grey belt'. This is the stated conclusion from research recently carried out by 'The Planner' (Royal Town Planning Institute) and it says that while the data does not specify how many of these applications went through appeals, it indicates that some previously rejected proposals might be worth revisiting.

However, the House of Lords Built Environment Committee has written this month (5th February) to the Deputy Prime Minister saying that the Government's grey belt policy announced in July 2024 in its draft revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has been rushed through and not properly thought through. It said:

'The House of Lords Built Environment Committee has concluded its inquiry into the grey belt policy and has today written to the Deputy Prime Minister. It finds that the policy is unlikely to make any significant difference to the number of new homes that can be built.

'The introduction of the grey belt policy had the potential to expand rural settlements and unlock sites on the boundaries of existing communities. By making grey belt land a distinct category and highlighting that this is land that makes a limited contribution to the original Green Belt principles, it might have been possible to mitigate local opposition to such development.

'In December, however, the Government published the final NPPF, including a requirement for local authorities to review Green Belt boundaries and propose alterations if they are not able to satisfy their identified need for homes, commercial or other development through other means. These changes, coupled with other ongoing policy developments, are likely to render the concept of grey belt land largely redundant.

'Even before the final NPPF was published, there was significant uncertainty about how many dwellings could actually be built on grey belt land: estimates ranged from as low as 50,000, to as high as 4 million. This uncertainty is compounded by the fact that the Government does not have a clear plan to track the progress and assess the effectiveness of its new policies.

'The Government appears to lack a sufficient understanding of the implications of introducing multiple intersecting planning policies at the same time, and this compromises its ability to deliver any of its policies in a coherent way.

'Even if new homes are built as a result of the grey belt designation, access to public transport infrastructure and social infrastructure, in tandem with environmental considerations, will be crucial in determining the long-term sustainability and viability of such developments.'

Other findings were:

• Grey belt sites have the potential to support SME housebuilders as the smaller size of some grey belt sites would be less economically attractive to larger builders. However, the affordable housing requirement, although less rigid than the original proposal, still make it financially difficult for smaller firms.

• The committee is concerned that, with the far-reaching changes detailed in the latest draft of the NPPF, local authority planning departments will lack sufficient resourcing and expertise to be able to deliver change at the pace demanded of them. The committee welcomed the extra money announced in the Autumn Budget for local authorities to recruit 300 additional planners, but this will not be enough to make a meaningful impact.

• The introduction of the concept of grey belt land could have the undesirable effect of encouraging ad hoc and speculative applications for development on land within the Green Belt, contrary to the Government’s intention that such land should be released in a planned and strategic manner.

Architect Gavin Miller at MICA Architects has been reflecting on his own experiences in a newly written piece around the implications of building on the so-called 'greyer' parts of the UK's Green Belt. He calls his article 'A proposal for an integrated approach to development in sensitive landscape settings.'

He writes:

'In 2007, MICA won a competition to design 10,000 homes on the Green Belt in East Herts, north of Harlow. Last year, after a long and arduous process, we finally received consent in 2023 for our design. The concept we developed during that competition, in collaboration with Grimshaw, though it took time to fully articulate, now appears remarkably foresighted.

'Our task was immediately complicated by the removal of the original UK Labour government mandate for development, replaced by the 2010 coalition government’s policies, which made our project even more challenging. The site, located on and around a former country estate, presented significant obstacles due to its complex local conditions.

'To address these challenges, we adopted a special approach centred around landscape, well-being, and health, ahead of its time for 2008. As architects, we felt a profound responsibility to ensure that development on this precious land would bring benefits and preserve undeveloped land for the future. We proposed that only 45% of the land be developed with 9% of it built form, with a focus on encouraging access and enhancing existing rights of way. The preserved land would then be protected in perpetuity from further development, as a Trust managed by the community.

'Taking its name from the historic estate, Gilston Park, is inspired by historical English precedents, like the common land of Beverley and the informal landscape spaces of Hampstead Heath, to create a unified collective identity bound by the landscape, which then hosts the unique individual character of six villages. Each village is connected to the landscape, blending its own distinct identity with a broader collective sense. Our plan emphasises frontages and views onto these key spaces, ensuring consistency across the large-scale shared landscape spaces and variety within each village.

'Access to open space is a core principle. For the 10,000 dwellings, no home is more than 400 metres from extensive open parkland, and this figure drops to 150 metres when including pocket parks. We prioritised designing homes that faced the landscape, avoiding the often unfortunate Green Belt model of back garden fences onto underused rights of way. Originally designed as six individual villages, the overall concept unifies them under a single vision.

'Illustrating these relationships abstractly as a model produces an unusual diagram, but one that clearly illustrates the balance of built and open space, and the accessibility to it.

'We tested various typologies and sought to balance the then pervasive car culture with sustainable practices. Near a train station, we pushed for higher densities with mixed use and intensified centres and frontages to villages and key spaces. This is achieved by exceeding typical suburban density but maintaining low heights with wide and shallower plots with direct street frontages, able to accommodate the long-term repurposing of garages.

'Spatially, we drew inspiration from precedents set by Thomas Sharp, Raymond Unwin and Camillo Sitte, creating a rich variety of frontages with rhythms, profiles, typically arranged around “turbine” spaces to avoid standardisation. This is informed from from how historical spaces work , analysing what makes a village, and engaging age-old enduring principles to create an environment which is rich, varied and interesting, avoiding suburban cliches and relentless repetition.

'The result is a contemporary continuous landscape that balances formality and informality and forms a responsible approach. While we’ve learned valuable lessons from this project, we need 176 more of these, either in or out of the “Grey Belt” to address the UK’s housing shortage effectively.'

Image: Gilston Park masterplan courtesy of MICA Architects