Lib Dem council calls on government to rethink policy that categorises 96% of Guildford's Green Belt as 'grey belt'

Last night Liberal Democrats took a stand on behalf of residents across Guildford borough by spearheading a demand for the government to suspend and reconsider the 'grey belt' planning rules that have opened 96% of the borough's green belt for potential development.

The motion, which received cross-party support, was passed at the full meeting of Guildford Borough Council on 3rd November, and calls upon the government to suspend the grey belt rules until a new Local Plan has been completed, and to revise the rules to restore protection for land separating villages.

The motion was proposed by Cllr George Potter, Vice-Chair of the Planning Committee, and seconded by Cllr Fiona White, the Executive Member for Planning. Speaking in the debate George said:

"As Liberal Democrats we support building more housing, which is desperately needed, and especially housing that local people can actually afford. That is why this motion calls for delivering a new Local Plan as quickly as the government will permit, so that we can build the housing our borough needs. But new development needs to be sustainable and to come with supporting infrastructure for both new and current residents.

"Opening up 96% of Guildford's greenbelt to potential development, in an uncontrolled, free-for-all fashion, is the worst possible way to provide new housing. The government told voters that 'grey belt' meant scrubby bits of land around the edges of towns and disused petrol stations, and instead most of the Surrey Hills National Landscape is now being labelled grey belt. That is a false prospectus, and the government must change course before irreversible harm is done."

Other councillors who spoke in the debate paid tribute to the work already done by Surrey MPs, like Guildford's Zöe Franklin, in challenging the government on the destructive consequences of the changes in national planning rules.

An amendment to the motion, seconded by Lib Dem Cllr Vanessa King, and proposed by R4GV Cllr Catherine Young, was also passed, adding in wording to endorse the council's recent Urban Capacity Study being used to identify brownfield sites early in the Local Plan process and brought forward for development in accordance with the Brownfield First approach.

NOTES TO EDITOR:

The motion text can be found as Item 10 on the agenda for the council meeting, where the webcast of the meeting can also be found:

democracy.guildford.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=159&MId=3322