Picture: Cllr Sam Bromiley is campaigning to protect the green belt
New rules on housebuilding issued by the Labour government this week amount to a direct attack on South Gloucestershire’s precious green spaces, Conservatives say.
Under plans unveiled by Labour Secretary of State Angela Rayner on Tuesday (30 July), South Gloucestershire will be expected to increase its annual housebuilding targets by a colossal 30%.
The proposals will also see a new category of ‘grey belt’ land introduced to enable development to take place on land previously classed as green belt.
But the Conservative opposition on South Gloucestershire Council has issued a blistering response to the proposals, promising to fight them “every step of the way”.
A key part of the new rules will see changes made to the annual housebuilding targets that local authorities have to meet. Councils located in urban centres, such as Bristol and London, will see their allocations reduced while councils in greener areas, such as South Gloucestershire, will see their allocations increased.
Indeed, under Labour’s plans South Gloucestershire’s annual allocation is to increase from 1,317 houses per year to 1,717, a rise of 30%.
The Conservative Group also fears that the new classification of ‘grey belt’ will be used to justify building on areas the previously enjoyed green belt protections.
The new proposals come on top of controversial plans already being pursued by the Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition in charge of South Gloucestershire Council. These plans, widely opposed by members of the public, will see the wholesale destruction of large swathes of green belt land, particularly in the East Fringe.
Cllr Sam Bromiley, Leader of the Conservative Group on South Gloucestershire Council, said: “The Conservative Group is completely and unequivocally opposed to these new planning rules. We stand shoulder to shoulder with residents who do not want to see their green belt destroyed by a Labour government that is unwilling to listen to their understandable concerns.
“These new rules are yet another attack on South Gloucestershire’s precious green spaces and we will continue to fight them every step of the way.
“Reclassifying green belt land as ‘grey belt’ in order to force developments through while ordering South Gloucestershire to take ever increasing amounts of housing, all while completely dismissing the views of local people, is, quite simply, an appalling way for a government to behave.
“South Gloucestershire’s green belt is under attack from the Labour/Lib Dem coalition in charge of the council and now from the national Labour government. Only the Conservatives will stand up to protect it.”
The Conservative Group has continuously fought to retain the green belt, seeing it as an important protection for towns and villages and to prevent urban sprawl.
