Green belt to be destroyed for homes which wont be needed
As a preface to this article just remember the amount of green belt designated has increased by 100% over the last 20 years and that if England was a football pitch every building within it would struggle to fill one six yard box. Now read on….
Swathes of green belt in the heart of England have been earmarked for new homes for people who may never exist, in a trend fuelled by the drive to double the number built annually nationwide, campaigners have warned.
Fields bordering ancient woodlands are among more than a dozen sites, around Coventry, which have been released from anti-sprawl protections. They will be ploughed up to build more than 11,000 new homes based on population growth predictions that demographers warn are likely to be over-inflated.
The city council believes it needs land to accommodate 42,400 new homes in the next 12 years, based on population predictions by the government’s Office of National Statistics (ONS), which predict the population will surge by almost a third between the last census, in 2011, and 2031. Green belt in neighbouring areas, including Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Rugby, has also been earmarked for housing to help Coventry meet its target.
Analysis presented at the British Society of Population Studies, in Cardiff, on Tuesday suggested homes earmarked for open fields were being planned for “ghosts”, because there is no wider evidence of the sharp predicted population growth. Just 15,000 new homes were needed, requiring the loss of far less green space.