The petition of residents of the constituency of Hazel Grove,
Declares that the green belt across Stockport and Hazel Grove should be preserved; further declares that brownfield sites should be prioritised for new developments; and further declares that adequate school places, transport provision, and GP capacity should be guaranteed for any new developments.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to roll back its doubled mandatory housebuilding target for Stockport and thereby allow Stockport Council to deliver a Local Plan that protects the area’s green belt while developing the homes our communities need.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Lisa Smart, Official Report, 22 April 2026; Vol. 784, c. 405.]
[P003183]
Observations from the Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook):
The Government have a brownfield first approach to development. The national planning policy framework (NPPF) makes it clear that substantial weight should be given to the value of using suitable brownfield land within settlements, including the development of under-utilised land and buildings to meet the need for homes and other uses.
Through the revisions made to the NPPF on 12 December 2024, we broadened the definition of brownfield land, set a strengthened expectation that applications on brownfield land will be approved, and made it clear that plans should promote an uplift in density in urban areas.
Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, the Government consulted on a new NPPF. That consultation, which can be found on
www.gov.uk, included a range of policies to further strengthen support for development on brownfield land. We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.
The Government are committed to preserving green belts which have served England’s towns and cities well over many decades, not least in terms of checking the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas and preventing neighbouring towns merging into one another.
However, we know that there are simply not enough brownfield sites to deliver the volume of homes that the country needs each year, let alone enough that are viable and in the right location. That is why we acted to replace the haphazard approach taken by the previous Government to green belt designation and release with a strategic and targeted approach.
We have not changed the five purposes of the green belt set out in paragraph 143 of the NPPF, and we do not propose to alter its general extent. The framework still contains strong protections for the green belt, making it clear that inappropriate development should not be approved unless justified by very special circumstances.
Where it is necessary to release green belt land for development, national policy makes it clear that local development plans should give priority to previously developed land and other lower-quality grey belt land. Under our revised approach, the sustainability of green belt sites must also be prioritised, and local planning authorities must pay particular attention to transport connections when considering if grey belt is sustainably located.
The definition of grey belt, for the purposes of plan making and decision making, is provided in the glossary of the NPPF. We published updated green belt guidance on 27 February 2025, to ensure a consistent approach to the identification of grey belt land. Where land is identified as grey belt, that does not mean it is automatically granted planning permission. The potential consequences of any planning proposal should still be assessed in light of all relevant local and national policies.
Where green belt land has to be released for major housing development, we have put in place new “golden rules” to ensure that development delivers higher levels of affordable housing; the provision of new—or improvements to—existing green spaces that are accessible to the public; and the making of necessary improvements to local or national infrastructure.
In December 2024, the Government introduced a new standard method for assessing housing needs that is aligned to our stretching plan-for-change target of building 1.5 million new safe and decent homes in England by the end of this Parliament. This new standard method relies on a baseline set at a percentage of existing housing stock levels, to better reflect housing pressures right across the country, and uses a stronger affordability multiplier to focus additional growth on those places facing the biggest affordability challenge.
The standard method is used by local authorities to inform the preparation of their local plans. Once local housing need has been assessed, authorities should then calculate the number of new homes that can be provided in their area. This should be justified by evidence on land availability and constraints on development—such as national landscapes and areas at risk of flooding—and any other relevant matters.
Each authority should assess and plan how to meet its housing needs over the plan period. We expect local planning authorities to explore all options to deliver the homes their communities need—maximising brownfield land, working with neighbouring authorities, and, where necessary, reviewing green belt.
With regard to infrastructure, the NPPF sets out that the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including the provision of supporting infrastructure in a sustainable manner. Contributions from developers, collected through the community infrastructure levy (CIL) and section 106 planning obligations, play an important role in delivering the infrastructure needed to support new development. The Government are committed to strengthening the system of developer contributions to ensure that new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure.
CIL has not been adopted by Stockport council but is otherwise a locally set charge on most new development to help address the cumulative impact of development by funding infrastructure anywhere across the charging authority’s area. Local planning authorities can separately also seek a section 106 planning obligation from a developer to mitigate the impact of a specific development, to make the development “acceptable in planning terms”. This might, for example, require the provision of, or a contribution towards a new or improved road, school, health facility, or open space, needed because of the development.
Additionally, the Government have announced £5 billion of capital grant funding for infrastructure and land to be administered by a new, single National Housing Delivery Fund. This National Housing Delivery Fund will provide grant funding for land and infrastructure, including on brownfield sites. In Greater Manchester this includes almost £260 million of funding devolved to Greater Manchester combined authority through the integrated settlement.