The Green Belt Disaster: From Protection to “Grey” and Disappearing Fast.

The newly proposed English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, announced on Tuesday, promises to hand sweeping new powers to metro mayors and regional authorities.

The government says it will streamline planning, boost housing supply, and drive local growth. But beneath the headline promises lies a darker reality: for our countryside, wildlife, and communities, the Bill could spell disaster. At its heart is a planning system that increasingly favours developers while eroding the protections of the Green Belt.

New powers being handed to metro mayors and strategic authorities under the Bill are creating a real risk for Green Belt protections. These powers let mayors prepare regional Spatial Development Strategies, grant or refuse planning permission directly via Mayoral Development Orders, and even override decisions made by local councils. In practice, this means a development rejected by a local council today could be fast-tracked—or imposed—by a mayor with broader political ambitions tomorrow. This shift devalues local voices and opens the door to large-scale development creeping into Green Belt zones.

An even greater threat is the concept of “Grey Belt,” introduced in the most recent planning guidance. It quietly splits Green Belt land into two categories: “true” Green Belt, which strongly serves its original purposes like preventing sprawl, and “Grey Belt,” which supposedly doesn’t contribute as much—even if it still supports nature, recreation, and community wellbeing. This loophole is already being used by developers to bypass long-standing protections. If a piece of land is labelled Grey Belt, the ironclad rule of “build only in very special circumstances” often no longer applies.

Inspectors are already approving developments on so-called Grey Belt land. In Walsall, a battery storage facility once refused was given the go-ahead on appeal. In Basildon and Tandridge, small housing schemes were allowed despite objections. A 173-home development at Daws Heath won approval because the land had been declared Grey Belt and was considered “sustainable.” These decisions are happening now, setting dangerous precedents that developers can exploit again and again.

Even Parliament has raised the alarm. The House of Lords Built Environment Committee launched an inquiry into Grey Belt policy, concluding it was rushed, poorly defined, and may not even deliver the housing benefits promised. Worse still, there is no agreed metric to track how much Green Belt land is being lost—meaning that the full scale of the damage could remain hidden until it is far too late.

For Havering, the risks are stark. If mayors can override council decisions, residents could find themselves sidelined on key local planning issues. If the Grey Belt loophole is applied here, our open countryside could be dismissed as “less valuable” and opened up for blocks of flats, warehouses, or industrial development. Without data or clear oversight, campaigners will struggle to hold anyone to account.

The erosion of the Green Belt is no longer just a possibility—it is happening quietly and steadily. Land once thought untouchable is being reclassified, councils are losing their power, and developers are being handed opportunities at every turn. The Green Belt, which for decades has been a promise of protection, is now disappearing before our eyes. Preservation of open, green spaces isn’t guaranteed anymore. It depends on people standing up now to say loudly and clearly: not in our name.

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