Plans to build just short of a quarter of a million new homes pose a major threat to the green belt, according to the Campaign to Protect Rural England, which is urging government ministers to act to protect the countryside.
CPRE expects some 226,000 new homes to be built on such sites over the next few years.
The group’s president, Sir Andrew Motion, warns that new planning guidelines means open season has been declared on the green belt and that the guidelines are undermining a promise by the prime minister earlier this year to protect the countryside.
A poll for Ipsos Mori for CPRE shows the majority of people (64%) – both those living in the country and those in cities – want the green belt to be protected. However, young renters are significantly less likely to support the view that the green belt should not be built on.
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