Communities secretary Greg Clarke has ruled in favour of the development of 1,500 homes on greenbelt land near Gloucester.
The landmark ruling could lead to widespread development of greenbelt land, despite previous claims by ministers that the need for new homes was unlikely to outweigh harm to the greenbelt and the prime minister saying ahead of the election that greenbelt land was extremely precious.
Clarke, in making his decision, said that the plans would be harmful to the greenbelt but that there would be a substantial benefit as a result of the new homes being built.
The Daily Telegraph, p. 8
