A

BILL

TO

Establish a national register of green belt land in England; to restrict the ability of local authorities to de-designate green belt land; to make provision about future development of de-designated green belt land; and for connected purposes.

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:–

Schedule 1 - National register of green belt land

(1) The Secretary of State must hold and publish a public register of all land in England designated as Green Belt land on 1 June 2022.

(2) That public register shall be updated to reflect changes to the designation of land—

(a) any land de-designated as Green Belt land after 1 June 2022 shall be identified as Former Green Belt land, and

(b) any land designated as Green Belt land after 1 June 2022 shall be identified as New Green Belt land.

(3) Any changes to the designation of land under subsection (2) shall be reflected in the public register within two months of the change being made.

Schedule 2 - De-designation of green belt land

(1) No local authority in England shall de-designate any land which is designated as Green Belt land on 1 June 2022 unless—

(a) it has ensured that alternative land within its local authority area has been designated as Green Belt land in substitution for the land to be designated,

(b) the substituted land satisfies the criteria set out in subsection (2),

(c) the land is not New Green Belt land within the meaning of section 1(2)(b).

(2) The criteria which substituted land must satisfy are that the land—

(a) is the same or greater in area than that which is to be de-designated,

(b) abuts land on which—

(i) housing has been developed, and

(ii) the density of such housing is above average relative to the land within the local authority area as a whole, and

(c) satisfies any requirements of Green Belt land issued in a National Planning Policy Framework by the Secretary of State.

(3) No local planning authority shall grant permission for development on Former Green Belt land if such development is for housing at a greater density than any housing adjoining or contiguous to it.

Schedule 3 – Interpretation

In this Act “Green Belt land” means—

(a) any land within the meaning of Green Belt land given by section 2(1) of the Green Belt (London and Home Counties) Act 1938, and

(b) any other land defined as Green Belt land in order to prevent or restrict development on that land by keeping it permanently open.

Schedule 4 - Extent, commencement and short title

(1) This Act extends to England and Wales only.

(2) This Act comes into force two months after Royal Assent.

(3) This Act may be cited as the Green Belt (Protection) Act 2022.

This Bill was proposed by The Rt. Hon 1st Earl of St Ives /u/Sephronar MSP CT PC as a Private Members Bill, and is sponsored by The Conservative and Unionist Party.

Opening Speech:

My Lords,

Britain is not known as the ‘green and pleasant land’ simply as a cheap moniker - she lives and breathes the rolling hills, the plush green valleys, the expansive forests - we as legislators must do whatever we can to protect that greenery, and by putting further measures to protect the green belt in place we can do just that.

This Bill requires the Secretary of State to publish a register of all green belt land across England and Wales, and further requires Local Authorities to take an equally involved approach.

I hope that colleagues will see fit to rise in support of this Bill, and protect our green and pleasant land for future generations to come.

No amendments were submitted so the bill proceeds directly to a final division.

Vote on the bill in its entirety by 31st January at 10PM GMT.