Quick Answer

What Is the Green Belt?

The Green Belt is a planning policy designation that applies to land around many major cities and towns in England, designed to prevent urban sprawl, protect the countryside, and maintain separation between settlements. It is not a landscape designation — Green Belt land does not have to be attractive or ecologically significant. Its purpose is strategic containment of urban growth.

There are 14 Green Belts in England, covering around 12.4% of England’s land area. The largest is the Metropolitan Green Belt around London. Other significant Green Belts surround Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Bristol, and other major cities.

Permitted Development Rights in the Green Belt

The Green Belt designation itself does not remove permitted development rights. The Part 1 GPDO 2015 rights for dwellinghouses (extensions, loft conversions, outbuildings) apply in the Green Belt in the same way as anywhere else — unless they have been specifically removed by a planning condition or an Article 4 Direction.

However, there are some PD rights that are specifically restricted in the Green Belt:

• Larger Home Extension scheme (Prior Approval): The Prior Approval scheme allowing single-storey rear extensions up to 8m (detached) or 6m (other houses) beyond the normal 4m/3m PD limits does not apply in National Parks, AONBs, or World Heritage Sites — but it does apply in the Green Belt
• Agricultural buildings: Some agricultural PD rights are restricted in the Green Belt by specific GPDO conditions
• Telecommunications: Some telecoms PD rights are restricted in the Green Belt

Green Belt Planning Policy

The core Green Belt planning test is found in Chapter 13 of the NPPF. The key principle is that inappropriate development in the Green Belt is harmful by definition and should not be approved except in very special circumstances. “Very special circumstances” must clearly outweigh the harm to the Green Belt and any other harm.

Certain categories of development are defined as “not inappropriate” in the Green Belt:

• Mineral extraction and appropriate facilities for outdoor sport and recreation
• Cemeteries and other uses of land that preserve its openness
• Limited infilling or partial redevelopment of previously developed land
• Limited infilling in villages
• Extensions or alterations of a building provided they do not result in disproportionate additions to the size and bulk of the original building

What Is Allowed in the Green Belt

In practical terms, for a house in the Green Belt:

• Permitted development works: Extensions, loft conversions, outbuildings within PD limits — go ahead, as PD rights are not removed by the Green Belt designation
• Modest extensions requiring planning permission: Extensions that don’t result in disproportionate additions may be approved
• Replacement dwellings: Replacement of an existing dwelling may be acceptable if the new building is not materially larger than the one it replaces
• Agricultural buildings: Agricultural development serving genuine farming purposes may be approved
• New dwellings: Almost always refused — new houses in the Green Belt are inappropriate development