Today Rebecca provided a comment on the result of the Ragwood Stables Green Belt site:
I am bitterly disappointed that the developer’s appeal to build 58 homes on Green Belt land at Ragwood Stables south of Daws Heath Road has been allowed.
I have stood alongside residents in the battle to defend this Green Belt site for many years and we won the previous appeal battle to protect it in 2024. This time sadly the outcome was different thanks to two changes in the Labour Government’s planning policies.
Firstly new rules say the Green Belt purpose of stopping settlements merging does not apply to villages. Daws Heath is classed as a village on Council documents, so that protection did not apply. Last year I ensured an amendment was put forward to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill in Parliament to give villages equivalent protection to towns. Sadly the Labour Government opposed it and it did not succeed.
Secondly, ‘Grey Belt’ didn’t even exist in national planning policy when the last appeal to defend the site was fought. The Labour Government introduced it in December 2024. This time the Council argued that this site should not be classed as Grey Belt, but the Inspector disagreed. That meant building on it was no longer treated as inappropriate even though it was still technically Green Belt.
This is exactly why I have been warning about the Council labelling treasured Green Belt sites such as Jotmans, Glebelands, The Chase and Dutch Village as potential Grey Belt in its Local Plan evidence.
The Council did not have to simply accept those assessments. It could have challenged them and made the case that these treasured local Green Belt sites should not be classed as potential Grey Belt.
Potential Grey Belt classification does not mean automatic planning permission, but it gives developers a major advantage in planning appeals.
This appeal shows just how important that distinction can now be.
It is vital the Council rethink these classifications before it’s too late!
You can find Rebecca's petition to remove the potential Grey Belt classification from local Green Belt sites our community treasure here: www.rebeccaharris.org/say-no-grey-belt-development-treasured-green-belt-sites
