Chiltern Society Trustees have issued an open letter (see below) to local MPs and Councils calling for joined up thinking across all land uses: housing, infrastructure, nature and farming.
4th October 2024
National Planning Policy Framework Consultation: Time to Balance Development with Nature
Open letter to all Chiltern Society Area MPs and Council Leaders
The NPPF consultation confirmed our planning system is not fit for purpose. The consultation fails to address fundamental environmental issues and shifts the focus to “housebuilding first”, with little regard for wildlife or natural heritage and their benefits to society and wellbeing.
Instead, we ask Westminster for joined up thinking across all land uses: housing, infrastructure, nature and farming.
- Targets and Infrastructure: The proposed methodology shifts housing targets from urban areas to the countryside, at odds with the need for urban renewal and infrastructure needs. Targets across the Chilterns increase by around 40%, whilst infrastructure such as sewage is already failing and creating serious ongoing river pollution.
We call for a national strategy matching real housing demand and infrastructure needs, whilst taking a balanced view on nature recovery and green spaces. At the same time any rural development must deliver upfront infrastructure improvements to avoid increased environmental impacts. - Brownfield First: Rather than revert to the “easy option” of offering developers green field sites, we call for more proactive measures to encourage brownfield development, such as grants to help clean up brownfield sites, equalisation of the VAT regime and preventing land-banking by allowing mandatory purchase of sites left idle.
- Green Belt/Grey Belt: The vague definition of Grey Belt will confuse decision making and deliver destructive Green Belt development. We suggest a clearer definition of grey belt, requiring land on a settlement boundary, which fails to meet at least 3 of the Green Belt purposes. Adding a 6th Green Belt purpose, recognising its environmental value in health and wellbeing, public access and nature recovery, would help to prioritise any Green Belt release. The release of grey belt should be highly restricted and managed strategically by local authority-led Green Belt reviews, rather than allowing speculative developer requests. This strategic approach would ensure that the remaining Green Belt retains a high level of functionality in terms of both preventing urban sprawl and providing high quality connectivity to enable good public access for recreation and green corridors for nature recovery.
We know you care and are happy to assist you in any way we can to help you facilitate the change.
Kind regards,
Simon Kearey MBE
Chair, The Chiltern Society
James Wheatcroft
Planning Lead, The Chiltern Society
