It is not impossible to build on Green Belt Land, if you follow certain conditions.
Green Belt Land Planning Permission
If you are interested in land for sale in Green Belt, there are some things you should be aware of. In Green Belt you will often be looking at plots or potential plots, with a new house in mind. You can register a new property on the Land Registry Portal (access information or apply to change the register). You can also make searches for legal purposes if you are buying a property.
Green Belt Definition
The focus of Green Belt is basically for the preservation of large open swathes of land by halting the spread of city suburbs across these unspoilt havens. These must always be open and never built-up. So you can see that the rule of thumb used to be that in order to build something, you should also demolish something. The idea has been around since 1935 when conservative and forward thinking by the Greater London Regional Planning Committee came up with the Metropolitan Green Belt that encompasses London and Greater London. The other benefit is that it villages and towns remain separate and cannot merge across their respective borders.
Recent Changes to Rules for Green Belt Land
Any kind of building is basically frowned upon, with the recent exception of relaxed rules for agricultural, recreational buildings or starter homes and affordable housing. The latter is due to pressure to meet targets for building new homes which are so badly needed. Because of this, many councils have altered the boundaries of their green belt areas, as well as creating sites for development on Brown Field Land (previously industrial sites. This creates great interest for developers and builders wishing to tender for the contracts.)
You can replace a structure, as indicated above. Also you can extend but only to 30% of the host dwelling and subject to other conditions such as visibility. Your proposal may be less contentious if your house is sheltered by trees or hedges. (Non-Green Belt land usually allows development up to 50%, by comparison.)
Birds and Bees
If it is a plot for sale you have in mind, it is nice to have a blank canvas. You may be thinking of levelling an existing property and building a new home elsewhere on the plot. Arch-itects sometimes have ready-made designs for you to choose from. London Architects: Extension Architecture prefer to study the site in depth, instruct the relevant surveyors e.g. topographical, arboricultural, ecological wildlife or bat surveys. We also study the area and the local planning policies and restrictions to create a contemporary or traditional design according to what your preferences may be.
Bones of Contention
Other restrictions include Conservation Areas for which your LPA will have a Conservation Officer. Also there is Open Met Land, Areas of Special Consideration or Historical Interest, and Grades I & II Listed Buildings.
Get in Touch
With our experience of gaining planning approval for our designs in Green Belt, London architects Extension Architecture have a very high success rate. For more information on Green Belt, you can have a look at the Planning Portal.
Contact Us
If you are looking for Green Belt land for sale, give us a call. We network with many developers and investors and will be happy to show you a presentation of what we have achieved on Green Belt land.
