Beyond the Green and the Grey: Championing the Great Belt

The Green Belt isn’t real. It is a planning instrument, a control mechanism, a policy abstraction applied to the edge of cities to prevent sprawl, shield biodiversity from rampant development, and safeguard access to nature.

Like many made up geographies, it has naturally become so much more than a designation. The Green Belt strikes the imagination. It conjures up the ideal of the British countryside, of pastoral life on the fringes of the grimy metropolis. And while that may sometimes be true, it is fair to say it isn’t all rolling hills and untouched nature.

The Green Belt is now under pressure. London's relentless growth has reached a critical threshold. The London Plan targets 880,000 homes in just 10 years and local authorities struggle to get anywhere near their targets.

As the housing crisis pushes policy-makers to look at releasing parts of the green belt for development, in comes Grey Belt policy, which proposes that not all Green Belt is green, accessible, or enjoyable. That in fact a lot of it is inaccessible and ecologically depleted.

And so the green is pitted against the grey in a fight that leads nowhere.

The Grey Belt puts the Green Belt on probation.

Is it all really that green? Where is it underperforming? Could we release chunks of it here and there?

As boroughs undertake a somewhat tedious scrutiny into every inch of it…

As landowners snatch the opportunity to demonstrate the grey-ness of their land…

The push to intensify and optimise generates a sea of planning applications and appeals that promises to litter the land with low-quality development.

This empowers the nay-sayers, sparks negativity, and galvanises nothing inspiring.

In the absence of a vision to tie it all together, that is.

Beyond the simplified, binary discussion of green vs. grey lies an opportunity to adopt a joined up, strategic vision that spans administrative boundaries, reaching across and beyond the M25.

This is London's next chapter of evolution. Playfully, it is an opportunity to evolve Cedric Price’s metaphor of "The City as an Egg" towards the concept of "The City as Shakshuka," where growth is layered, integrated, and flavoursome!

We propose to champion the Great Belt

The Great Belt means we can start to look at Green Belt release in the context of strategically significant transformations, such as the Heathrow expansion, new transport links like HS2, Crossrail 2, and Euston station upgrades, and booming sectors like the West Tech Corridor and specialised innovation hubs. Here lies the opportunity for a cohesive, orbital vision.

The Great Belt is not as a static constraint, but a layered place that is layered with the full spectrum of infrastructure to grow places and nurture opportunities.

We think of the GREAT Belt as a five-pillar framework to guide development and investment so that interventions are strategically connected.

Growing: This is about growing places through cross-boundary partnerships to release new homes and new employment. It’s about getting boroughs talking to one another and aligning initiatives along key corridors, such as the area connecting Slough, Langley, and Iver to Heathrow Airport.

Resilient: This involves thinking BIG about resilient ecosystems and biodiversity corridors. The aim is to achieve a critical balance between amplified density and amplified nature, creating new home and neighbourhood typologies that harmonise with the "green and the blue," particularly near water.

Energising: A future-forward approach to nurturing innovation and infrastructure is essential to unlocking industry. This includes championing industrial placemaking to create better-integrated, hard-working clusters for innovation, manufacturing, and logistics, turning "shed environments" into human-centred places that contribute locally and regionally.

Accessible: New settlements must be accessible and inclusive for all, optimizing access to sustainable modes of transport. This means delivering places where communities thrive in proximity to amenities, employment, services, and play.

Thriving: Moving beyond mere survival, the Great Belt must be a place people choose to live in for all ages and demographics.

Visit www.greatbelt.org and reach out to [email protected] if you would like to champion the Great Belt and be part of the conversation!