Only 16% of new houses built on Green Belt land since 2009 outside of local plans were classed as ‘affordable’, research from the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has revealed.
The Green Belt Under Siege report found 425,000 new homes are now planned for Green Belt land, an increase of 54% in the past year.
The report shows that more than 70% of these new houses are ‘unaffordable’
‘Green Belt is being lost at an ever faster rate, yet the type of housing being built now or in the future will do very little to address the affordable housing crisis faced by many families and young people,’ said Tom Fyans, director of campaigns and policy at the CPRE.
‘We must not be the generation that sells off our precious Green Belt in the mistaken belief it will help improve the affordability of housing. The only ones set to benefit from future Green Belt development will be landowners and the big housebuilders, not communities in need of decent, affordable housing.’
The CPRE argues that the Government is ‘rewarding’ the development of Green Belt land, such as providing councils with £2.4bn through the New Homes Bonus initiative.
Read our feature exploring if we should protect Green Belt land from development.