The Labour Party’s proposal to introduce five ‘golden rules’ for ‘Grey Belt’ development is an important initiative to help deliver more homes, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).
Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB commented: “The UK is experiencing a growing housing crisis and brownfield sites alone are insufficient to tackle the scale of the challenge that we face. While brownfield land should be prioritised, introducing new measures to create more buildable land and is vital, particularly small sites which can be used by local house builders, as this will help to create more diverse, quality housing.’
Berry concluded: “More detail is needed about the proposal, particularly as to how ‘poor-quality and ugly areas’ are to be classified as Grey Belt. However, we know that many small sites in Green Belt areas, such as disused car parks and petrol stations, would be perfectly suitable for housing. Unlocking small sites would present significant opportunities, and these proposals must be supported with increased funding to empower local authority planning departments to support micro and SME housebuilders through the planning system.”
