Grey Belt vs Green Belt: A Quick Explainer

Town planning is collecting belts like a karate champion!

Has the Grey Belt just been unlocked by Keir Starmer’s Labour Government?

The word in the Town Planning Dojo is a cautious ‘yes’, but to understand it we need to define and understand what a ‘grey belt’ and a ‘green belt’ mean. Not strictly a belt, but always running in the same competition is the term ‘Brownfield’. So, what does each term mean?

‘Green belt’ areas are protected land around the perimeter of existing urban centres where development is heavily restricted by national planning policy.

‘Brownfield sites’ are areas of land that have been previously developed and are therefore deemed as preferable locations for new, often higher-density buildings.
The ‘Grey Belt’ is a relatively new term referring to ‘Brownfield’ sites that exist within the Green Belt and any areas of the Green Belt that make a limited contribution to the five purposes of the Green Belt. When considered together, these disparate and often disconnected pockets of land form a collective opportunity for the densification of housing near existing urban centres without building over virgin green space.

Do you still think the term ‘Grey Belt’ is somewhat vague?

Well, the open nature of the term is intended to give individual Local Planning Authorities the latitude to define for themselves, what constitutes Grey Belt within their local context and whether or not it contributes to the Five Purposes of the Green Belt. Expect this term to be hotly contested over the next 5 years of planning reform.

Want to read more on the topic? WWA’s Director of Planning, Ifti Maniar, and Uban Design Director, Johnathan Headland, have penned complimentary articles reflecting on the future of the Grey Belt from planning and urban design perspectives.