brentwood.gov.uk

Metropolitan Green Belt -
ECC is committed to working closely with its local authorities to meet the increasing demand for housing and infrastructure that meets the needs of residents, drives economic prosperity and protects and enhances the local environment. Paragraph 83 - 85 of the NPPF identifies that Local Planning Authorities should establish Green Belt boundaries that ensure consistency with the Local Plan strategy for meeting identified housing requirements in sustainable locations, and any Green Belt review should be undertaken as part of the Local Plan preparation.

The Draft Plan Spatial Strategy seeks to maximise development on brownfield sites within existing urban areas, including the redevelopment/allocation of employment sites for residential use. The commentary provided in the consultation document states that given the finite availability of these sites in the Brentwood/Shenfield urban area, and lack of such sites to meet the objectively assessed need, significant growth will be (required on green belt sites.

The Draft Local Plan contains two 'strategic objectives' (SO15 and SO16), which seek to safeguard the Green Belt from inappropriate development and to protect and enhance valuable landscapes, and the natural/historic environment. The Borough is covered by 89% Green Belt, along with a wide range of other environmental constraints including distinct landscape types of relatively high sensitivity to change; and two large Country Parks at Thorndon Park and Weald Park. Other designations include SSSI's, Local Nature Reserves, biodiversity habitats, and Thames Chase Community Forest.

ECC acknowledges the sensitive nature of the Borough and the need to balance growth with retaining local character. The Borough Council will need to be satisfied that it has identified its preferred spatial strategy, which includes significant Green Belt release, based on a range of proportionate evidence. In so doing, BBC will need to demonstrate that it has considered all reasonable locations for future growth against the relevant criteria, and demonstrate that the most appropriate sites have been identified for allocation.