Around two million houses will need to be built on green belt sites to accommodate government plans to deliver three million new homes by 2020, according to a leading think-tank.
The Social Market Foundation (SMF) says that, at current building density trends, two million of the properties would have to be built on greenfield or green belt sites.
The Should the green belt be preserved? report goes on to say that even if all the houses were built at a density equal to that of London, and all available garden and city park space was utilised, one million homes would still need to go on green sites to reach the target.
The SMF believes a debate is urgently needed on ‘loosening the green belt’ and argues that there may be a case for reconsidering its future. It also says the public are confused over greenfield sites and the purpose of green belt. ‘
More than half of Britons believe that 50% of (UK) land is developed, when the true figure is 13%. Most people believe the green belt is there to protect wildlife or natural beauty but it is actually there to prevent urban sprawl,’ the report states.
‘The UK needs to have a rational debate about where to build houses. We have to build them somewhere, but building new houses anywhere involves trade-offs.
‘Given that a significant amount of housing will have to be built on greenfield sites there is a need for better debate,’ the report concludes.
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