Grey belt to deliver more affordable housing

The leader of the Labour party, Keir Starmer, pledges to deliver more affordable homes, improve green spaces and provide infrastructure.

How will this change the way we build homes?

Their plan outlines the introduction to a new class of ‘grey belt’ land that prioritises the redevelopment of lower-quality and aesthetically unpleasing sections within the greenbelt. This initiative seeks to preserve areas with rich environmental significance while offering development opportunities that directly benefit local communities. Additionally, any land designated under this new classification would be required to allocate a minimum of 50% of its housing for affordable purposes.

Additionally, Labour pledged to enhance the government’s brownfield build-out rates and emphasised that regions with sufficient brownfield sites should abstain from releasing greenbelt land.

Starmer said: “The Tories’ housing emergency has left millions unable to plan their lives, start families, or build a future for themselves and their kids. It’s engulfing a generation of hard-working, aspirational people. 

We’ll prioritise ugly, disused grey belt land and set tough new conditions for releasing that land. Our golden rules will also ensure any grey belt development delivers affordable homes, new infrastructure and improved green spaces.”

What are the new rules for grey belt land?

  1. Brownfield first
  2. Grey belt second
  3. Affordable homes
  4. Boost public services and infrastructure
  5. Improve green spaces

The party reiterated its commitment to constructing 1.5 million homes over the upcoming parliamentary term. It vowed to swiftly revise planning regulations and confront obstacles while championing the aspiration of home ownership.

Stewart Baseley, HBF’s Executive Chairman, said: “In the face of an acute housing crisis, we support moves to bring forward more suitable land for development.

Many areas of the green belt are not beautiful, and previously developed sites such as petrol stations or car parks offer great potential for new housing close to transport links and amenities. Replacing the least aesthetic parts of the green belt that offer little to no ecological value with high-quality new energy efficient homes while improving the environment for biodiversity and local communities should be a priority for anyone interested in tackling the housing crisis.”

This urgent issue demands our immediate attention and action, and their proposal is a significant step towards its resolution.