You might have spotted our recent data story in The Sunday Times, highlighting that reclassifying just 1% of the Green Belt could lead to the development of as many as 738,000 new homes.

And while we are aware of how unlikely this may be, a new designation of land proposed by the new Labour-led government could provide the catalyst we’ve been waiting for. Say hello to the Grey Belt.

What is the Grey Belt?

Grey Belt is a new term, popularised by the Labour Party in April 2024, describing "poor quality and ugly areas"- including disused car parks and wasteland - on parts of the Green Belt. In our eyes, it's kind of like Brownfield-ish land that exists within the confines of the Green Belt.

While Green Belt plays a critical role in protecting urban sprawl and securing natural green spaces, it's also important to note that land designated as Green Belt is not always beautiful rolling countryside. 

Based on what we're hearing Grey Belt could be considered to be disused scrubland, previously developed land that has fallen in to disrepair, or land that has little biodiversity.

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Grey Belt and the NPPF

Labour hasn't wasted any time getting its Grey Belt plans moving. At the end of July 2024 it released its proposals to amend the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) - diving into more detail about the Grey Belt.

The draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) defines "grey belt" as land within the green belt that includes previously developed areas and those that contribute only a little to the green belt's purpose. However, it excludes land with significant environmental importance.

In simpler terms, grey belt land could include quarries, car parks, golf courses, glasshouses, solar parks, and leisure sites like caravan parks and campsites. However, it won’t include important areas such as nature reserves, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), local green spaces, national parks, heritage sites, or areas at risk of flooding.

Additionally, the government’s consultation adds that grey belt land must have at least one of the following features:

• It has significant built development or is fully surrounded by buildings.
• It does little to stop neighbouring towns from merging.
• It is mainly used for urban purposes or has many physical developments.
• It does little to protect the character and setting of historic towns.

How much Grey Belt land is available?

As Grey Belt is not yet an official designation, there isn’t a recognised definition for what land would be considered Grey Belt, or data available to tell us how much actual land is actually available.

But using the terms used to describe Grey Belt so far, we have identified 20,442 sites where new homes could be developed across the UK. In the future, these parcels of land could be be classed as Grey Belt.

In London's Green Belt alone, this includes 2,643 sites!

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How to find Grey belt land

While we're still waiting for official policy, we've been putting our heads together to figure out what criteria might help identify Grey Belt land.

Using our powerful sourcing tool, which queries hundreds of data sets instantly, we’ve been crafting some nifty nuanced filters to reveal potential Grey Belt sites.

From filtering out existing agricultural land and residential land, to searching for plots near roads and rail and using our biodiversity filters to specifically look for land that might be considered ‘poor’ in quality - we think we’ve done a pretty great job of finding potential Grey Belt opportunities.

The best part? It's super easy to build and tweak filters in Searchland. Once we get more information, we can quickly adjust our criteria to make sure we're finding the right projects.

And this isn’t just for our tech team. This tool is available to all our standard and pro users. So, if you want to get ahead start on identifying Grey Belt land, you know what to do!

Is Grey Belt the solution to the housing crisis?

Just like developing on Brownfield land, developing on the Green Belt or Grey Belt will only ever be part of the solution. It should be integrated into a broader strategy for housing land supply that includes sites in our towns and cities, as well as other strategic or sustainable locations.

If you’d like to learn more about the tools we are using to discover Grey belt opportunities, get in touch with us for demo of Searchland.

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