Consultation on future green belt housing changes in Leeds begins

Public consultation has begun today on proposals by Leeds City Council to protect 33 housing sites in green belt areas of the city.

As part of amendments to the city’s Site Allocations Plan (SAP) which identifies locations for future housing, the council has put forward a revised approach to sites in the green belt for consideration.

Under the proposed change, the 33 sites which can be seen listed here would be named as ‘Broad Locations’, which would give them increased protection as they would not be considered for any future development until such time as the council thinks it is necessary. Other sites would be developed first ahead of these 33 locations, which together make up almost 55 per cent of all green belt locations identified in the plan as a whole.

The consultation is now underway and will run until 5pm on Monday 26 February. To take part go to www.leeds.gov.uk/yourcity. Response forms are also available at all council-managed libraries and one stop centres.

The proposed change follows a review of green belt housing allocations carried out following new government guidelines announced in September.

In light of potentially lower overall housing targets for Leeds, the council has revised its approach. The impact would mean these locations, previously identified as potentially having 6,450 future homes, would be retained as green belt.

The feedback received in the consultation will be passed on to government-appointed inspectors as part of their consideration of the council’s plans.

Leeds City Council executive member for regeneration, transport and planning Councillor Richard Lewis said:

“We are firmly committed to ensuring there is no unnecessary loss of green belt land in Leeds while meeting future housing need.

“It is important these plans continue to progress, as it is the only way for us to ensure we can make our own decisions on houses being built in the right places where they are needed rather than others making those decisions and us having to accept it.

“Based on the latest information and recent government announcements, we have reviewed our approach to protect these green belt sites, rather than releasing them prematurely. Together they make up more than half of the green belt sites currently identified in the plan, so we look forward to hearing people’s views in this consultation.”

ENDS

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