Guildford Borough Council has just published a new assessment of green belt land in response to the introduction of the “grey belt” concept in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) 2024. This new assessment has implications for development in West Clandon and neighbouring villages, which the Parish Council will discuss at their next meeting on September 9. Follow the link to the GBC new assessment of Green Belt Land here.
In summary, GBC’s assessment found that some areas of the Borough’s Green Belt meet the Government’s definition of “grey belt” or “provisionally grey belt”. Grey belt is a national policy term used to describe land that does not strongly contribute to certain Green Belt purposes.
The GBC report makes clear it was largely a desktop study and individual areas may need to be reassessed if an application comes in. The report does not take account of the contribution of different areas to the openness of the green belt in assessing whether something is grey belt. This is relevant when considering actual applications.
However, the fear is the report will embolden landowners and developers to put in speculative applications now, knowing Guildford lacks a five year housing supply plan.
If you’d like to know more about your Parish Council response to the new assessment then please join our next meeting and/or keep an eye on the website for further updates.