"As our previous research found, the grey belt could potentially deliver 3.4m new homes to the market, but it’s not just current grey belt plots that need to be considered"
- Hugh Gibbs - Searchland
The latest internal data release from Searchland looked at planning applications submitted across England since 2010 specifically those that were rejected due to being located on green belt land that now meets the grey belt criteria as set out in the new National Planning Policy Framework.
Previous data from Searchland revealed that there are an estimated 30,597 grey belt sites across England, enough to deliver 3.4m homes to the market if developed.
The firm’s latest figures have also shown that there have been 3,425 planning applications rejected since 2010 due to being located on green belt land, green belt land that may now be considered grey belt, as classified by the Labour Government.
Should these planning applications be revisited and granted approval, it could bring an estimated 27,197 new homes to the market, with an estimated market value of £12.2bn.
The South East is home to the highest proportion of rejected planning applications that could now be approved, accounting for 21% of the national total, with the potential for 9,001 new homes to be delivered with a market value of £4.8bn
19% of these rejected applications were found within the East of England with the potential to deliver 4,215 new homes.
The North West was also home to a considerable proportion at 16%, followed by London (12%), the West Midlands (10%) and Yorkshire and the Humber (10%).
“With the grey belt now formally recognised by the National Planning Policy Framework, developers are benefitting from a significant increase in the number of opportunities available to them," explained Co-founder of Searchland, Hugh Gibbs, adding "As our previous research found, the grey belt could potentially deliver 3.4m new homes to the market, but it’s not just current grey belt plots that need to be considered,"
"Since 2010, no less than 3,425 planning applications have been rejected due to the fact they were located in green belt land," he said.
Hugh concluded, "With the creation of the grey belt, the likelihood is that these applications are well worth revisiting as they could lead to the construction of thousands of new homes with a market value to the tune of £12.2bn,”
