Councils receive funding for green belt reviews in local plan reform

The government will give £70,000 to each of the councils that have asked for help to undertake green belt reviews and prioritise lower quality “grey belt” land.

Confirming previously announced changes to accelerate and simplify local plans, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said it would distribute the funding to 133 local authorities. It will announce further funding for councils needing help to prepare or update their local plans “in due course”.

MHCLG has made more than £14 million in grant funding available to support councils in updating their local plans and reviewing their green belt land. The housing department has now updated planning guidance to help councils identify land development including grey belt.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) defines grey belt as land in the green belt that does not strongly contribute to its core purposes.

Under its local plan reforms, MHCLG has also announced an additional £4.5 million to fund salary bursaries for new planning roles in councils. MHCLG stated an ambition to surpass the government’s manifesto commitment of 300 extra planners in place by the end of next year.

This funding will support other changes including introducing regular assessments …