Property development strategies

Finding development sites in the Grey Belt

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Find Grey Belt sites now - before the NPPF is finalised:

Update: This guide was made before the revised NPPF (defining the Grey Belt) was published on the 12 December 2024. Guidance discussed in this guide relates specifically to draft Grey Belt policy published in July 2024. To see the latest Grey Belt news - visit our blog.

Why its important to understand the Grey Belt now

To help achieve their goal of delivering 1.5 million new homes over the next five years, Labour has announced plans to make it easier to build on poorer-quality parts of the Green Belt—areas they’re calling Grey Belt.

If made a reality, these proposals could create one of the most significant opportunities in decades, transforming the use of these underdeveloped spaces on the Green Belt.

What's happening now:

  • The Government is consulting on its proposed reforms to the NPPF and has started introducing some of its core campaigning messages into policy.
  • It's still early days, with nothing strictly definitive, but a few consistent messages allow for a good level of speculation.
  • This document examines the new concept of the Grey Belt, and we hope you can start identifying these sites today.

What you'll learn from this guide

Using the insights revealed in the draft NPPF consultation, we've been able to glean some 'best-guess' strategies to what Green Belt land types might be reallocated as Grey Belt. In this guide we'll walk your through three potential land types, as well as explain the Searchland tools we used to find them.

With this in mind you'll be able to source potential Grey Belt opportunities today, scope out landowners and get ahead of your competition.

Book a demo here to discover our insights in action.

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