Government proposals to open up “greybelt” land for new housing are a “Trojan horse” that could spell the end of the greenbelt, according to the opposition’s shadow housing secretary.
Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Kevin Hollinrake’s comments came during the second reading of the government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill yesterday (24 March).
The greybelt concept was introduced in the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in December 2024. It is defined as previously-developed land in the greenbelt that should be prioritised for development.
During the debate, Hollinrake said: “The greybelt, which was sold to the public as a few abandoned garage forecourts, has now been exposed as the Trojan horse we predicted it would be,” he said.
“Although not directly part of this bill, it clearly interacts directly with it. It has been described as a death knell for the greenbelt due to the removal of parts of the definitions and protections of villages.”
He said that the Conservative Party would not oppose the passage of the bill but would “seek to amend it in ways that do not undermine the ambition to accelerate the delivery of new homes while ensuring that there are checks and balances that protect communities, rural areas, farmers and the environment”.
Ahead of the debate, figures from 13 of the leading tier one contractors and consultants had penned a letter urging MPs to back the bill.
In the open letter, contractors including Atkins Realis, Balfour Beatty and Costain described the bill as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to unlock growth, accelerate critical projects, and strengthen the UK’s competitiveness”.
However, their views were not referenced during the debate.
Despite this, many politicians spoke in favour of the bill, with some calling for more measures to support the construction industry, from the need for more skilled workers to penalties for land banking.
Kirsteen Sullivan, Labour MP for Bathgate and Linlithgow, said that contracts will be lost if the industry’s severe skills shortage was not addressed.
“We must also consider the severe skills shortages across several sectors over which both Tory and SNP governments have presided, from planning to construction,” she said.
“We cannot deliver physical and digital infrastructure without the people to produce it. There is huge concern in the business community about the possibility that if the skill shortages are not addressed, contracts will be lost, jobs will be lost, and opportunities for young people will go elsewhere.”
Also speaking during the debate, former Mace executive and MP for Northampton South Mike Reader said he was “hugely supportive” of the bill, but said it could go even further.
He said: “I wonder whether the minister would consider, in this bill or in future legislation, reforming the outdated requirements for pre-submission consultation in the Planning Act 2008.”
Reader also voiced concerns that new proposed requirements in the bill for environmental delivery plans and a nature restoration fund would become a bottleneck to the delivery of new homes.
He said: “In principle that solution is practical and will unlock delivery, but I ask the minister whether Natural England will be given the resources and funding it needs to ensure that it does not become a new bottleneck in the planning system.”
The debate resulted in MPs voting 330 to 74 in favour of the bill.
