Green belt decision shows value of getting development sites into local plan, expert says

The decision by UK communities secretary Greg Clark to grant permission for a 1,500-home scheme in the Gloucestershire green belt demonstrates the importance of getting local planning authorities on side when bringing forward a large-scale development proposal, an expert has said.Clark granted outline planning permission on the week of 28 March for a mixed-use scheme including homes, shops, community facilities, health care facilities and public open space on land to the north of the village of Brockworth.The 77 hectare development site lies within the Gloucestershire green belt, as defined in saved policies of the 2006 Tewkesbury Borough Local Plan. National planning policy only allows green belt boundaries to be altered in “exceptional circumstances” and development within the existing green belt to be approved in “very special circumstances”.