Grey Belt Development: New Labour Government’s Strategic Solution to the UK's Housing Crisis
While we arestill all eagerly anticipating the precise definitions of what makes a site“Grey Belt”, we thought we would do our own investigation into what sort ofsites we can expect this policy to include while showing off our brand new GreyBelt Shortcut feature.
What even is Grey Belt?
From the draftof the National Planning Policy Framework it is described as “underused orderelict land that is classified as part of the green belt, but has lowenvironmental or aesthetic value”. Imagine things like car parks, abandonedindustrial sites etc. that technically fall under “Greenbelt” but have beenpreviously developed or left derelict and now therefore make more sense to berepurposed to help address the UK’s housing crisis. There is hope this will bea positive way to counteract the “NIMBY” (Not In My Back Yard) sentiment whichis more prevalent when development threatens untouched pockets of Greenbelt.
How can REalyse help you identify these key areas ofopportunity?
While nothingofficial has been confirmed by Labour yet regarding policy implementation, ourteam has been hard at work to help you unlock prime development opportunitieswith just one click. So you can be on the front foot when anything isimplemented. Our Greybelt Shortcut instantly provides a report on all Freeholdand Leasehold sites that appear as both Brownfield and within Greenbelt.
Taking the belowexample in Leeds, we can see this visually meets the criteria of a potentialgreybelt; classified as Greenbelt of South and West Yorkshire, but alreadydeveloped as a parking lot (a brownfield site). You can also instantly accessall details on site size, coverage and most importantly, ownership. So far, sogood.
However, we’reable to take it one step further and understand if there is any associated workalready planned for this site, using our “related planning” option. As thebelow image shows, there’s actually already planning granted on this site. So,not only can you identify potential opportunities, you can quickly refine yourfindings to those that are relevant and warm leads.
Luckily for us,there’s another potential Greybelt site situated a little further down the samelane. Doing a quick sense check of this site using our google street viewintegration we can quickly confirm the validity of this site as a potentialGreybelt. Not only does it sit on the intersection of Brownfield and Greenbelt,it is aligned with the early definition of having low environmental oraesthetic value. Better yet, as the first image shows - there’s no planningassociated with this site.
The aboveexamples are just two of thousands of potential sites scattered across the UK.Whether you are a developer looking to maximise site potential in strategicareas, or an individual looking to seek out high-potential investment areas,the REalyse Greybelt Shortcut button is the key to unlocking any and all ofthese opportunities and hopefully an environmentally friendly way for Labour torespond to the UK’s housing crisis.
Ready to unlock thehidden potential in your market? Let REalyse guide you in identifyinghigh-impact opportunities with data-driven insights. Start optimising your strategy today bygetting in touch with a member of the REalyse team - sales@realyse.com- to schedule a demo.
