- The Green Belt has never before faced such serious threat as large sections of land disappear under new developments.
- There is a worrying trend of increased proposals for housebuilding on the Green Belt rising from;-
81,000 proposed houses in 2012
275,000 proposed houses in 2016
460,000 proposed houses in 2018
- Planning inspectors continue to sign off significant releases of Green Belt for development around major cities.
As I have
learnt, not only from personal experience but , whilst researching for my next
book, from people all over the UK, once plans are “proposed” in due time they
materialize despite any objections from the local populace. Yes consultations are held but any views
expressed are totally ignored. The consultations
are only held as a tick box exercise and to make it more difficult to challenge
the plans on legal grounds.
So the
question is how to become more “active” in protecting the Green Belt. As an individual this is difficult. One way is to become a member of the CPRE
(Campaign to Protect Rural England).
This is what I have done. Membership is only £3.00 a month; less that a cup of coffee or pint of beer.
Feeling
passionate about our countryside I felt it was important to support
the work of the CPRE so I also joined my local group. The committee members (all volunteers) are extremely
hardworking and very knowledgeable about planning application, engineering,
town planning, policy making etc. The
CPRE uses any monies they receive on fees needed to legally challenge various
applications.
One
important thing I have learnt is that the only objections given any
consideration are those which challenge the reasons for the application. So for example if public transport is not
mentioned as a benefit of a specific application then any concerns about public
transport the general public may raise are totally ignored as being irrelevant. Another significant lesson I have learnt is
the power of the law and money. Any
application which is carefully scrutinized by a lawyer (which usually costs a
lot of money) is more likely to be modified if not rejected. Oh to have won the lottery!!
So if you value our wonderful countryside and want to help protect the Green Belt join NOW the Campaign to Protect Rural England https://www.cpre.org.uk/
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