Green Belts were introduced in the post-war period, and were intended to prevent the urban sprawl that occurred due to private house building in the early 20th century.
The Government issued a Consultation Paper in December which, if it becomes law, will allow councils “to allocate appropriate small-scale sites in the Green Belt specifically for starter homes”.
While this would not allow generalised development on Green Belt, it would allow the construction of homes under the Government’s new Start Homes housing scheme.
The “Starter Homes” scheme involves private developers building new homes for people to buy; these homes are 20 per cent cheaper than normal homes to buy because of a small government subsidy.