Could the greenbelt solve the housing crisis?
England’s greenbelt has been called into question, and that question is, can it help the government solve the current housing crisis?
In research conducted by independent architecture and surveying consultant, Woods Hardwick, England’s green belt is estimated to cover almost 13% (1.637m ha) of England’s total land area.
Less than 10% (8.7) of England’s land area is of developed use, with 10.5% defined as ‘built-up’.
Woods Hardwick’s research shows that the green belt could facilitate the construction of almost 80 million new homes, with the average new-build plot required to be 222sqm.
Less than 2% of the green belt would be needed for new-build construction for the government to meet their one million new homes by the next election target.
The south east green belt was recorded to be of the highest area value, as it covers over 15% of the region and could facilitate the construction of almost 14k new homes if fully developed.
Planning director at Woods Hardwick, Russell Gray, comments: “Sensibly planning the release of green belt land will directly address the housing crisis and local property shortages.
“That doesn’t mean concreting over the entire countryside as many incorrectly assume and there are swathes of green belt that have been incorrectly classified and contribute little to the intended purposes of green belt in national policy.”
Green belt development has historically been rejected by politicians for landscape and habitat reasons, causing debate on all levels.
The Government has announced its plans to redevelop brownfield sites to support its new-build target, posing more questions, like will the area mass of brownfield sites facilitate the number of new-builds needed? And will the new houses be affordable?