Land News

Green Belt - 50 Today

Lawson Fairbank 3rd August, 2005

The Green Belt is officially 50 years old today yet there's little to celebrate. The Campaign for Rural England believe green belt land is under threat from development as never before from Government housing and road plans.

It was 50 years ago that a Tory government extended green belt protection zones outside London to prevent cities spreading and merging together. The Campaign to Protect Rural England said four square miles a year were being lost to developments including houses, roads, airports, universities, sports venues and car parks.

A Mori survey, published by the CPRE yesterday, reported that 84 per cent of people believed green belts should remain undeveloped. Henry Oliver, the CPRE's head of planning, said it was time the Government took action to safeguard them.

Mrs Spelman said: "Under his [Mr Prescott's] watch, green belt protection has been erased on a whim by unelected regional bureaucrats and consistently sidelined by weaker planning rules."

A spokesman for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said the Government "is committed to maintaining and increasing the Green Belt in all regions".

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