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ID sylw: 97157

Derbyniwyd: 05/03/2025

Ymatebydd: Sir Thomas White’s Charity and The King Henry VIII Endowed Trust, Warwick

Asiant : Stansgate Planning

The Policy Direction indicates that the SWLP will take a sequential approach to allocating strategic areas of growth and new settlements, with the release of land from within the Green Belt where there is sufficient justification on the grounds of sustainability to meet the Framework test of
‘exceptional circumstances’. The Direction indicates that further work on this is ongoing.
This approach, and the allocation of sustainable sites within the Green Belt in Stratford and Warwick Districts to meet future development needs, is strongly supported.
That notwithstanding, the SWLP Preferred Options does not currently conform to national planning policy and must be redrafted to reflect the guidance in the PPG on Green Belt, published on 27 February 2025. In particular this requires Councils not only to assess Green Belt but also to identify what land within the Green Belt is grey belt, and to prioritise the allocation of grey belt sites ahead of other Green Belt land.
It is clear from the wording of the current Framework that the Government recognises there will now be occasions when land within the Green Belt should be released for development. New paragraph 146 makes this particularly clear, stating that ‘exceptional circumstances’ for altering Green Belt boundaries will include, but are not limited to, instances where an authority cannot meet its identified
need for homes, commercial or other development through other means. Paragraph 147 outlines further instances when land might be released. In respect of Stratford and Warwick Districts, there is insufficient previously developed and underutilised land, and opportunities to increase density on existing sites, to meet the identified housing needs. It is not reasonable for land to be allocated in neighbouring local authority areas (indeed Stratford and Warwick will be required to assist their own neighbours). Greenfield land will be required instead.
The thrust of national planning guidance is that land to be allocated must be sustainably located. Given historic development patterns, many of the most sustainable locations are now within the Green Belt and this should be acknowledged by removing land from the Green Belt to meet future housing needs. The Part 2 Green Belt assessment will confirm this.
To consider this further, the current Local Plans focused development on areas outside of Green Belt and have used many of the available opportunities for allocations in such locations. For example, in Warwick District, substantial allocations were directed to the areas south of Warwick and Leamington, providing housing close to existing employment areas. Further development in
the same location will extend the settlements away from their core centres leading to an imbalance of growth and extending travel distances back to the centre. Development on other edges of the settlements would be closer to local service and facilities, shops, schools, employment and have a greater range of sustainable transport opportunities and must be fully explored, particularly where development will have limited impact on the Green Belt across the area of the plan (as required by Framework paragraph 146)