Local Requirements - Green Belt Assessment

Types of application or development that require this information

• Planning Applications for all development within the green belt

What information is required?

A Green Belt Assessment should be proportionate to the scale of the proposal but it needs to provide justification for the proposed development having regard to local and national green belt planning restrictions on inappropriate development in the green belt.

For all developments, the assessment should explain which of the exceptions to green belt policy set out in the National Planning Policy Framework the proposal falls under, and explain why.

Where the use does not fall into one of the national exceptions it will amount to ‘inappropriate development’ in the green belt. In this case, a full explanation should be provided regarding what ‘very special circumstances’ the applicant believes to exist, together with the applicant’s arguments about how and why those very special circumstances outweigh the harm to green belt.

Requirements for enlargements to existing buildings

For enlargements to any existing buildings in the green belt, the applicant will need to demonstrate that the enlargement is not disproportionate. To do that, the applicant should provide calculations of the volume (cubic metres), footprint (square metres) and height (metres) of the proposed enlargement.

The Council will also require calculations of the volume and footprint of the following:

• The original building that is to be enlarged (the original building is the building existing on 1 July 1948 or the building as it was first constructed if it was built after that date)
• Previous extensions that have already been added to the original building since 1948, and which have not been demolished.
• The amount of any demolition of parts or additions being proposed to the original building as part of the proposed development which the applicant considers should be discounted from the comparison.

Policy driver

• National Planning Policy Framework - Chapter 13: Protecting Green belt land
• National Planning Practice Guidance: Green belt