A new London Green Belt Council report shows that voters in the recent local elections placed greater emphasis on protection of the environment than on almost any other issue. According to research by the London Green Belt Council (LGBC), the ruling groups in local authorities that allocated Green Belt countryside and green spaces for housing development in their Local Plans have been decisively punished by the electorate for doing so.
Analysis by the LGBC of the May 2019 council elections shows that where authorities had proposed development on Green Belt land, the ruling party in each case had been voted out of office or its majority substantially reduced. While in other parts of England, Brexit and other national issues may have determined the course of the recent elections, it is clear that in counties such as Surrey, Berkshire, Essex and Hertfordshire, which are within the London Metropolitan Green Belt (LMGB), the outcome of district and borough councils had been influenced more by communities’ anger at proposals to build housing estates on Green Belt land than by any other concern.
We hope councils that are still proposing to de-designate Green Belt will learn a lesson from this!
To read the full report click LGBC Local election report