We received a petition asking:
“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to honour his pledge to protect Green Belt land, and to not allow proposals for 4,000 houses within the Green Belt in South Oxfordshire to be included in the South East Plan.”
Details of Petition:
“The countryside in South Oxfordshire is facing an extreme threat from new house building. The panel appointed by government to scrutinise the draft South East Plan (the blueprint for development in the region until 2026) recommended building 4,000 houses on what is currently Green Belt land south of Oxford, and potentially more after 2026. The government is considering the panel’s report and will publish its response early in 2008. This petition aims to persuade the government not to include these Green Belt proposals in the final version of the South East Plan.”
· Read the petition
· Petitions homepage
Read the Government’s response
Green Belts remain an important part of national policy and the Government continues to place great importance on maintaining the Green Belt. Green Belt policy has served us well in preventing urban sprawl and protecting the countryside and the Government has no intention of fundamentally changing the policy.
Boundaries are not, however, set in stone. Local and regional planning authorities do have to make the difficult decisions about the most sustainable locations for the new growth that we need. Boundaries can be changed, but only in exceptional circumstances and after public consultation and examination in public through the development plan process.The Government’s Proposed Changes to the draft South East Plan contain a policy requiring the carrying out of a selective review of Green Belt land to the South of Oxford. This follows a recommendation by the independent Panel which examined the draft plan. These changes have been the subject of consultation. Proposed Changes also state that if, as a result of these reviews, Green Belt land is lost, consideration should be given to whether a broader review of Green Belt is needed to determine whether additional land should be designated as new Green Belt.
The Secretary of State considered that her Proposed Changes struck the right balance between the application of Green Belt policy and the need to create and maintain a network of sustainable communities; but she wished to hear from those who had views about that balance and how it may be achieved in particular places. The closing date for consultation responses on the South East Plan proposed Changes was 24 October. The Secretary of State is now considering all responses and hopes to publish a final version of the plan in the New Year.
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