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In light of the report by the Adam Smith Institute on green belt policy, the Royal Town Planning Institute is re-emphasising the importance of modernising the archaic green belt policy designed over 45 years ago.
The RTPI has been campaigning for revision of the policy since 2000 and whilst the Adam Smith Institute’s support is welcomed some of their recommendations need to be reviewed.
Rynd Smith, Head of Policy and Practice at RTPI, said: "Green belt policy is as much a political issue as it is a planning issue.
RTPI has been campaigning and lobbying Government to change the blunt tool that is green belt since our seminal: ‘Green Belt Policy – a discussion paper’ in 2000 and follow-up paper in 2002 calling for the ‘modernisation of green belt to address the new planning agenda of sustainable development’. We are glad to see the Adam Smith Institute getting on board however their recommendations need to be considered from a broader spatial perspective.”
RTPI in its manifesto, ‘Planning for Delivery: let’s push things forward’, produced for the 2005 national elections, included a section headed: ‘Green spaces – not green belts: A challenge to the existing policy’.
In short the RTPI called for a flexible and dynamic approach to green space policy that will put sustainable development at the core and avoid leapfrogging artificial boundaries. The RTPI supports the creation of sustainable town extensions alongside the retention of adequate open and natural space.
The Adam Smith Institute, by suggesting that we create homes in isolation, misses out on the wider spatial issues of modernising green belt policy addressed by the RTPI, namely: ensuring that such development demonstrates that it is a more sustainable option than equivalent forms of housing; that it makes the best use of existing infrastructure and access corridors; that new developments have a sufficient number of households to make public transport viable; and finally, that such development did not become a 'suburban agglomeration'.
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Press release issued: April 18 2006
