The Draft local Plan

 The latest draft of the NBC Local Plan and the Government National Plan Policy Framework (NPPF) has introduced  a new colour for land - grey.   It falls somewhere between green and brown land.  Brown land is land that has already been built on and the building is now derelict or can be demolished so the land can be redeveloped. This lands usually within settlements especially dense urban settlements or industrial land on the edges of towns and cities.

Green Belt land was a term given to land which breaks up settlements with vegetation and trees and open spaces so that they do not blend into one another becoming one large urban, concreted mass.  It was intended to add an aesthetic to the urban area and a place for unstructured recreation within it.  Green Belt land, because of its proximity to urban areas can be built  on in special circumstances provided a case can be made. The Green Belt has become a bit of a moveable feast in that Local Planning Authorities can remove bits of it provided it is replaced somewhere else.  This, and land in the countryside, is the land most favoured by developers.

The alienation of land earmarked for the HS2 project poses an interesting challenge for some Local Planning Authorities in that this land has been removed from the countryside and the Green Belt in order to accommodate the new railway line.  That the project has been postponed and might not go ahead means that the Government - if it has actually purchased the land (and in many cases it has not yet paid for it) - has a large amount of land surplus to its requirements, and just the sort of land that developers want.   Watch that space!

Grey Land is also desirable since it includes land such as former golf courses, carparks, former fuel stations, wasteland etc., on the fringes of urban areas.  In many ways it is countryside and Green Belt land on the fringes but calling it Grey is less controversial and this might make it easier to attract planning permission.   

Within the Parish of Betley there is, potentially, a lot of land which could be reclassified as Grey Land.  Given that the LPA is at liberty to effect such reclassifications of all land, the electorate will need a great deal of trust in its local council that it will do the right thing.    Having a strong Local Plan would help.    However, given that the NBC has not had a Local Plan for a long time (since circa 2013) it is likely that much of the damage has been done with too tall and over-large buildings in too close proximity to the town centre.

The issue over grey land is currently with the House of Lords Committee of Inquiry who will adjudicate on the government Plans for development on Grey Land.  The consultation ended today so we shall soon know.   The public Consultation for the Draft Local Plan for Newcastle-under-Lyme ended on 7 October 2024 so we might hear soon whether 8,000 new homes are preferable to 5,000 and if the Keele Golf Course and land in Barr Hill is to be built on.  Whatever happens now or later, it is more than possible that in the long term Newcastle will be joined to Keele, Keele to Silverdale and Madeley, Madeley to Betley and Betley to Crewe, we shall be experiencing more concrete and houses whether they are needed or not.  If there are sustainable solutions we are in need of them now.     

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