Is it about time we in the construction industry start making more noise about building on greenbelt?

 

Building in the country-side (or greenbelt) is generally considered taboo across the mainstream of political debate, however there’s more than enough greenbelt within the Greater London area (around 32,500 hectares) to build something like 1.6 million homes at average housing density according to Paul Cheshire, Professor Emeritus of Economic Geography at London School of Economics.

 

There’s plenty of opposition to building on the capital’s green acres but that doesn't mean we the construction industry shouldn't be leading the charge. It’s fair to say London’s politicians are nowhere near the point where they might be suggesting using some of London’s greenbelt to build new homes and they’d need to come up with some plans to review the Town and Planning Act (1974) which has by now fallen way out of step with the development of London over the past 40 years.

 

The government aims to build something like 200,000 homes each year and with a housing bubble starting to form in London it makes sense to concentrate that supply on the location where the demand is greatest – it would make sense for Londoners both in the short and long term.

 

We wouldn't anticipate building on the prettiest parts of London – there would of course be some areas that would be off limits and it’s likely this kind of action would cause additional problems however the construction industry, which is a key driver of the UK’s economy would likely have a huge boost if regulations surrounding London’s greenbelt could be changed to enable development.