Written question asked by Ashok Kumar (Labour) on Tuesday, 24 November 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 26 November 2009. It was answered by Lord Austin of Dudley (Labour) on Wednesday, 2 December 2009 on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Green Belt: Property Development

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government are taking to ensure that the green belt is not adversely affected by housing development.

Answer: The Government are committed to the protection of green belt and its crucial characteristics of openness and permanence. Under our policy in PPG2 (Planning Policy Guidance Note 2, Green Belts), house building in green belt other than limited infill in villages or affordable housing for local needs allowed for in development plan policies is 'inappropriate development'. Any such proposal would be subject to the tests set out in PPG2.Government encouragement to give priority to "brownfield" development is also playing its part. In 2008, eighty per cent of dwellings (including conversions) were built on brownfield land. Also, homes were built at an average of 44 per hectare. This all helps to reduce the pressure on both greenfield and green belt land.Green belt area at 31 March 2009 was estimated to be 1,638,840 hectares, around thirteen per cent of the land area of England. This represents a net increase of 3,170 hectares on the 31 December 2007 estimate of 1,635,370 hectares.

Secondary information