Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to protect the green belt and countryside from social and environmental damage cause by over-development.

The National Planning Policy Framework provides strong protections for the Green Belt. If a local authority proposes to release Green Belt land for development, the ‘exceptional circumstances’ test requires evidenced justification that it has examined all other reasonable options for meeting its development needs. The Framework also expects that, where the Green Belt has to be de-designated, there should be improvements to the quality of the environment in the remaining Green Belt. Additionally, the Framework encourages local authorities to prioritise brownfield land wherever practicable.