The UK’s housing shortage remains a pressing issue, leaving many families displaced or stuck in temporary accommodation due to soaring rents and evictions. Local authorities face the difficult challenge of meeting housing demand while addressing community concerns about new developments encroaching on green spaces.
Following its election in 2024, the Labour government prioritized reforming planning regulations to ease development restrictions. A significant change came with the updated National Planning Policy Framework introduced at the end of 2024. This framework introduced the concept of redefining certain under-utilized or degraded green belt areas as “grey belt” land, which could be more readily developed.
This policy shift has already resulted in a surge of planning applications across the West Midlands. Developers argue that some parcels of land previously protected as green belt should now be classified as grey belt, paving the way for expanded housing projects.
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In Sandwell, for example, the local authority needs to deliver 26,000 new homes by 2041. However, its current local plan accounts for only 11,500 homes, creating a significant deficit of 15,000. To meet these targets, planners anticipate increased pressure to approve developments on peripheral green belt sites, reclassified as grey belt by developers.
The recent controversial approval of 190 homes on the former Brandhall Golf Course exemplifies this trend, highlighting tensions between development needs and green space preservation on the borough’s edge.