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Planning Bill

Perhaps I may speak to my Amendment No. 406. It comes at the beginning of Chapter 2 of the Bill, which is entitled, ““Other changes to existing planning regimes””. Given this opportunity, I felt that it was important to raise an issue about which I feel strongly, which I have raised with the noble Baroness, Lady Andrews, and with her predecessors on several occasions. I declare an interest in that I am a landowner in the green belt in Hertfordshire. I fully accept the five purposes of the green belt as set out in paragraph 1.5 of PPG2, which are, "““to check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas … prevent neighbouring towns from merging into one another … to assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment … to preserve the setting and special character of historic towns; and … to assist in urban regeneration, by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land””." Those principles have been most effective and have preserved the countryside wherever they exist. One problem, however, is that they freeze all development in villages and hamlets that fall within a green belt; thus, except in very special circumstances, the natural evolution of those villages and hamlets is blocked. As I said on Second Reading, there are many small and medium-sized sites in green-belt locations where a modest, well-designed and appropriate development could be permitted without threatening the openness of the surrounding green belt. According to paragraph 1.4 of PPG2, openness is the most important attribute of the green belt. There will be differing views on what is appropriate development, and they will vary depending on the characteristics of the particular site. There is likely to be demand for affordable housing to enable the next generation of village dwellers to stay in the area; but appropriateness should not be limited to affordable housing. Some infilling and freestanding housing should not be ruled out provided that, as the amendment states, it is, "““of a quality and design that preserves the character of the area””." The amendment is designed to give a degree of flexibility to local planning authorities in aiding the natural evolution of villages and hamlets in the green belt, without compromising the five purposes of including land in green belt as set out in PPG2.