New research shows our green belt is a target

Anne Main has expressed concern over a report from the Campaign to Protect Rural England which draws attention to the real scale of the threat to the green belt in Hertfordshire.

Anne Main, MP for St Albans, has expressed concern over a report from the Campaign to Protect Rural England which draws attention to the real scale of the threat to the green belt in Hertfordshire.

The CPRE report shows that, since 1997, over 1,100 hectares of Green Belt have been lost each year and at least 45,240 homes have been built on Green Belt land. London's Green Belt boundaries are also currently being reviewed in 18 separate locations with a view to accommodating new housing development.

Anne said:

"CPRE now has research that confirms what I have been saying for some time- Government Ministers seem to have little respect for the legal safeguards on our green belts. Since my election, I have continuously drawn the Government's attention to this problem*, and I have never felt comforted by this Government's vague assurances about our green spaces.

This new research shows our green belt is under a real threat in the key areas I have identified in my dialogue with Government Ministers; from the expansion of Hemel Hempstead in the West and of Welwyn/ Hatfield in the East, and also from housing site sites identified within St Albans District Council's Local Development Framework consultation.

Green Belts are designed to prevent the coalescence of built-up areas and this research shows that this principle is under threat. These areas are clearly vital if we are to retain our green belt, which is such a valuable environmental resource. We must find spaces for houses, which is why the Council should ensure that valuable brownfield sites, such as the one on London Road, are retained for housing so we are not building supermarkets, and sacrificing green fields for housing.""