Labour plan for thousands of homes to be built on the 'Green Belt'

Hundreds of thousands of homes could be built on the ‘Green Belt’ as Labour calls for land to be reclassified as brownfield to allow building and development

Labour could alter planning rules to allow hundreds of thousands of vital homes to be build on the ‘Green Belt’, Rachel Reeves has said.

The shadow chancellor said the party would look at reclassifying protected land as ‘brownfield’ sites ripe for development under a ‘common sense approach’ if elected.

It comes as all the main parties face pressure to increase stuttering housebuilding rates amid soaring prices and rental rates. 

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Ms Reeves said: ‘A brownfield-first approach is right. But we also need to look again at what is designated green and brown. No one has got anything to fear from this.’ 

The shadow chancellor said the party would look at redesignating protected land as ‘brownfield’ sites ripe for development under a ‘common sense approach’ if elected.

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner last night said the party would seek to bring an end to ‘land banking’ and give local authorities powers to build council and social housing where needed.

The Tories are split between shire Tories who are against development and pro-housing MPs who argue the party must do more to attract younger voters. 

And at its conference last week, Lib Dem members forced the leadership to keep annual housebuilding targets in its manifesto.

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner last night said the party would seek to bring an end to ‘land banking’ and give local authorities powers to build council and social housing where needed.

Asked about concerns over potential building on the green belt, she told BBC Breakfast: ‘There’s lots of land that’s already identified and has got planning to develop but the developers are not developing it, so we will push to make sure that happens’.

She added: ‘It’s not that we haven’t got the land, the land is identified, but we have this situation where there is land banking, where developers are not building.

‘We will ensure that they do build and we will give local authorities powers to build council housing and social housing where we need it.’

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