The Green Belt

As an organisation we believe that the permanence of the Green Belt is vitally important.

We are currently gravely concerned that Bristol City Council and the neighbouring authorities will allow urban extensions into the Green Belt in order to accommodate high housing numbers. Developers are already targetting the Green Belt and applications have been submitted for housing at Oldland Common, Stoke Gifford and Ashton Vale, the latter in association with the proposed football stadium. We submitted objections to these proposals.

The football stadium received planning permission but a group of local residents applied for Town Green status for the site. An independent inspector recommended that this should be granted. In June 2011 the Council’s Public Rights of Way Committee voted to reject the recommendation and only grant village green status to a small section of the site. An application has been made for judicial review of this decision.

In December 2011 South Gloucestershire submitted changes to its Core Strategy which propose an increase in housing numbers from the 21,500 in the original version to 26,400.  To accommodate this number of new dwellings they wish to remove areas of land on the North Bristol fringe from the Green Belt. We are submitting a response to this during the consultation period

We have urged that councils should do their utmost to ensure that brownfield sites are developed before greenfield areas and that Green Belt boundaries will only be moved in exceptional circumstances.

Visit The Green Belt (www.cpre.org.uk/campaigns/planning/green-belts) for more information from CPRE on Green Belts.

CPRE and Natural England have produced (Jan 2010) a joint report entitled Green Belts: a greener future, the first major survey of the environmental state of Green Belt land and the benefits it provides for people and wildlife.

To see copies of the full report and a summary click here

And here’s a link to the CPRE Avon Green Belt fact sheet Jan 2010

For Comment on the 2011 Budget and implications for the Green Belt click here

Visit www.saveourgreenspaces.org for a link to the local action groups which are also campaigning for the protection of the Green Belt in our area.