Today's entry reports on the possibility of housing
developments being considered nationally significant infrastructure
projects.
The press has been speculating, or has possibly been briefed, on
the contents of the forthcoming Economic Regeneration
Bill. The main interest has focused on the green belt,
but an article in the Daily Mail suggests that housing may be added
to the categories of infrastructure project covered by the Planning
Act regime.
Green Belt
Although its original purpose included providing public open
space and recreational areas, the green belt, actually 14 belts around urban
areas in England and one in Wales, is principally designed to
prevent urban sprawl - see paragraph 79 of the National Planning
Policy Framework. To allow replacement of green belt land
- i.e. using it up in one place and declaring some other land of at
least the same area to become part of the green belt - would
maintain the overall size of the green belt but would
