The Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) is calling on Londoners to object to the government's proposals to allow more housebuilding in the Green Belt.
The CPRE these days extends its coverage to the big cities, in particular London, and even has a division called CPRE London. CPRE London recently issued an urgent call to the public to respond to the current government consultation on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) by indicating their opposition to proposals to weaken the protection provided to the Green Belt and also to proposals to build "affordable" homes in the Green Belt. Quite apart from impinging on the Green Belt and being anything but affordable to the people most in need of housing, the "affordability" would not be provided in perpetuity - in other words, someone who bought an "affordable" house could later sell it on at the highest market rate.
The government's proposals are set out in this document. The CPRE's appeal to the public and its own submission are on its website and are reproduced below.
The deadline for reponses to the consultation is 22nd February 2016.
Summary points on Government consultation on the NPPF
The Government is proposing to allow unaffordable starter homes and commuter hubs in London's Green Belt despite there being enough Brownfield sites to provide over 300,000 homes in London alone.
We have drafted a response to this important consultation which you could use (see below).
You will need to send your response to by 22 February 2016.
PDF: Response to NPPF Consultation
PDF: Response to NPPF Consultation - .txt