We need to talk about the Green Belt .
I am more and more convinced that conservation and amenity groups fighting to halt developments on Newcastle’s rapidly shrinking Green Belt cannot succeed in halting this onslaught. Partly because of changes to legislation but mostly to do with a now largely unregulated industry driven by profit alone and not at all by meeting housing need. Housing has become an investment class. As long as there are investors looking for a return there is going to be a profit driver. Inevitably, since this means buying assets that have a promise of increasing in value to give short term income, the sites are going to be on greenfield where a ‘buyer’s premium’ can be factored in. The result is creating ‘country living’ fantasies eating up the Green Belt.
But what is, or was, the Green Belt? Created post World War Two, these were created to provide healthier ‘lungs’ around tightly packed conurbations; terraced housing built in the 19th century with scant facilities or amenities with the secondary notion that access to countryside was in itself a valuable health and social good in the foundation of the then new Welfare State (1). Today, that thinking seems a long gone form of social engineering before package holidays and budget airlines.
What to do? Up against companies with lots of money, boxes of matches and effectively a free pass in planning permissions what do small and hard up conservation and community groups do?
Lots. For one, local groups can swing council elections. On a slightly larger scale, they can question M.P.’s and create pressure on votes. Organised protest should start at your opponents weak spot. Votes. Make sure local and constituency politicians know they are being held to account. Most politicians, even the small fry become addicted to the status and sense of power election gives to them. Threaten that and they will be all ears.
But one cannot, looking at the issue, nature in our towns and cities, hope that preserving what we have is the be all and end all. A fresh concept is required.
I have a notion of developing nature in urban spaces rather than protecting what is for the most part rye grass and barbed wire fencing; indeed, as many have pointed out, brownfield sites can frequently be much more interesting for their unplanned and eclectic mixtures of self-invited species. More and more of our wildlife that can has moved into the suburbs, particularly the mature suburbs.
This theme – of identifying and cherishing 'Green Spokes’ to counter the loss of Green Belt, will be the subject of forthcoming blogs.
Meanwhile a Very Happy New Year to my few readers (and thanks!).
(1) William Beveridge and others who conceived of the idea of a universal system of welfare were themselves keen ramblers.
