Core Strategy Preferred Options document - Amazon Web Services

Strategies, Activities and Actions – The Green Belt
Over 12,700 hectares
of Rochford District is
designated as
Metropolitan Green
Belt.
‘Green Belt’ is a
planning designation,
not a description of
land. Land can be
brownfield, i.e. it has
been developed in the
past, but is still part of
the Metropolitan Green
Belt.
Previous community
involvement has
established that local
people are, in the
main, opposed to the
release of Green Belt
land for development.
However, in general
people are also
opposed to additional
development within the
established
settlements.
Previous community involvement exercises have made it clear to us that
the District’s residents consider the protection of the Green Belt to be
very important. We acknowledge this and will seek to minimise the
amount of Green Belt land released by prioritising land outside of the
Green Belt for development, and, where Green Belt release is
unavoidable, ensuring that developments occur at a reasonably high
density to limit the amount of Green Belt land developed.
The term ‘Green Belt’ refers to a planning designation and is not
necessarily a description of the land. Land designated as Green Belt can
include, primarily for historical reasons, developed land and brownfield
sites. As such, whilst it is considered that all land currently designated as
Green Belt helps achieve the five Green Belt purposes as set out in
PPG2 to at least a degree, some Green Belt land is more worthy of
protection than others. We will examine the degree to which current
Green Belt land is helping to achieve the purposes of the Green Belt
when considering reallocating the land.
We consider that there are a number of strategic buffers that are
particularly worthy of mention as they play a key role in preventing the
coalescence of settlements and thus help preserve the identity of the
District’s towns and villages.
GB1 Green Belt Protection – Preferred Option
We will seek to direct development away from the Green Belt,
minimise the reallocation of Green Belt land and will prioritise the
protection of Green Belt land based on how well the land helps
achieve the purposes of the Green Belt.
The need to prevent the coalescence of individual settlements, in
order to help preserve their identities, will be given particular
consideration.
Rural Diversification, Green Tourism and Recreational
Uses
Whilst the District is predominantly Green Belt, only 3% of its VAT
registered businesses are agricultural – less than the regional and
national averages. It is recognised that diversification into other forms of
economic activity is necessary if farms are to remain viable. There is
concern that our current restrictive approach to the Green Belt will not
allow the District to achieve its vision of green tourism developing in the
District and may hinder rural diversification. However, any over
relaxation of Green Belt policies would be harmful to the character of the
Green Belt, undermine the purposes of including land within it, and be
contrary to sustainability objectives. A balance needs to be struck.
42