PRESS RELEASE

 

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 00.01hrs WEDNESDAY 3 AUGUST 2005

 

TURN GREEN BELTS INTO ‘ECO-BELTS’ SAY TCPA

 

 

Poor quality green belt land should be reclaimed to create ‘eco-belts’ ensuring land around towns is used for ecological and sustainable projects such as new community woodland, the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) said today.

 

Celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the national green belts policy today the TCPA reinforced the ongoing importance of green belts in preventing urban sprawl.

 

However, the TCPA has called for green belt land - often neglected scrubland with no discernible environmental or social value – to be reclaimed for environmental projects such as the creation of wildlife habitats, organic gardens for local markets, or small scale biomass power stations to supply heat and power through district heating schemes.

 

TCPA Director Gideon Amos said:

 

“The TCPA was the first organization to call for permanent rural or green belts back in 1919 and continues to campaign for them to play a positive role stopping sprawl and providing a backdrop for towns and cities.

 

“But too much green belt has now become a derelict wasteland of rubbish dumps and abandoned buildings – it’s time to turn green belts into eco-belts fulfilling a whole range of functions that will support a more sustainable way of living for our people and the environment. Instead of being treated as a derelict buffer zone between town and country, the emphasis should be on making this land truly green and pleasant.

 

”Local communities should have better access to this hugely important amenity for recreation, local food production and wildlife habitat."

 

Beaufort Court is an award winning example of sustainable green belt development, and the world’s first zero emissions commercial development. The derelict Ovaltine Egg Farm buildings were transformed to become a model of sustainable building design and small-scale renewable energy generation on green belt land.

 

Anna Stanford Communications Manager said:

 

"The much-loved 1930s buildings were lying derelict and un-used. With the support and guidance of the local council, we have breathed new life into them to create an award-winning example of sustainable development and green energy generation. Re-using an existing site rather than building anew is inherently sustainable and we have also created local economic benefits and job opportunities outside of London, reducing the need to commute. The response from the local community to the re-development as a whole has been overwhelmingly supportive and the wind turbine in particular has become a positive addition to the local landscape."

 

The TCPA are calling for a more flexible and holistic approach to green belts - taking account of the quality of the surrounding countryside, the scope for development of brownfield land within the urban area itself, the capacity of the existing transport infrastructure, and any local affordable housing, or economic development needs.

 

In addition, the government should reinforce the positive land use role of green belts (envisaged in PPG2 paragraph 1.6) so that, in return for green belt status, local planning policies make specific provision for countryside access; sport and outdoor recreation; landscape protection and enhancement; the reparation of damaged and derelict land; nature conservation; and farming and forestry and related uses.

 

The TCPA also states that policies to promote sustainable land management with mixed organic farming and community woodlands should allow, where appropriate, small scale, low-impact, live-work units for those engaging in local food production, woodland crafts, and other land-based activities.

 

Commenting on the debate about the loss of green belt in some areas, the TCPA highlighted how green wedges can help link town and country as well as prevent urban sprawl. Rather than have a 'belt' of green space these wedges can be made more integral to the urban fabric yet adopt a similar role to the original green belts.  The loss of green belt in one place could then be made up for elsewhere, in a 'wedge' which is more accessible to local people, absorbs pollution and reduces flood risk.

 

 

- Ends -

 

Notes to Editors

  1. The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) is an independent campaigning charity calling for more integrated planning based on the principles of accessibility, sustainability, diversity, and community cohesion. The TCPA puts social justice and the environment at the heart of the debate about planning policy, housing and energy supply. We inspire government, industry and campaigners to take a fresh perspective on major issues including climate change and regeneration.
  2. The latest TCPA Policy Statements are available on the TCPA web site: www.tcpa.org.uk
  3. 1919 to 1955 - Green Belt history Originally rural belts emerged as part of the vision for Garden Cities at the end of the nineteenth centuryand the TCPA’s Annual Report of 1919 included a statement from the Executive calling for towns to be “surrounded by a rural belt”. The Association continued campaigning for green belts throughout both world wars for example the 19th June 1937 issue of Town & Country Planning Journal published a new policy statement calling for towns to be “surrounded by a permanent country belt”. In  1944 TCPA Council member and Vice President Sir Patrick Abercrombie first put Green Belts into planning practice in his Greater London Plan of 1944 for Herbert Morrison the Leader of the London County Council. Abercrombie was also the founder of Council for the Preservation of Rural England. In 1955 the Minister for Housing and Local Government, Duncan Sandys, issued the first Government policy on Green Belts that urged all local authorities to protect any land acquired around their towns and cities "by the formal designation of clearly defined Green Belts," the statement was warmly welcomed by the Association. The circular set out the aims of Green Belt policy as "checking the unrestricted sprawl of the built-up areas, and of safeguarding the surrounding countryside against further encroachment". See Ministry of Housing and Local Government Green Belt Circular 42/55. The Circular marks the first acknowledgement from the Government that the primary purpose of Green Belts is to halt urban sprawl and protect the countryside, rather than to provide land for the nutritional and recreational needs of cities. Most importantly, Green Belts were always seen as complementing the need for well-planned towns and cities both new and existing. See also Hardy, D (1991) “From Garden Cities to New Towns” E&FN Spon, London.
  4. Case study Beaufort Court is a model of sustainable building design and small-scale renewable energy generation on green belt land. A sympathetic conversion of the former Ovaltine Egg Farm buildings on green belt land in Kings Langley, it is the worlds first in zero-emissions commercial development, being entirely self-sufficient in heat and power from on-site renewable energy technologies, including energy crops, solar power and a landmark wind turbine next to the M25 motorway, which sends surplus power to the local grid.  Careful planning retained the outward appearance of the buildings and a 'green travel plan' reduces car journeys to and from the site.  As well as providing comfortable, modern and attractive office accommodation for head office staff of Renewable Energy Systems, the leading wind energy developer, Beaufort Court incorporates a Visitor Centre where school parties, community groups and professionals come to learn more about renewable energy, sustainable architecture and protecting the environment. 
  5. Beaufort Court is the headquarters for Renewable Energy Systems Group (RES), one of the world’s leading wind energy companies, involved in the development, construction and operation of wind farms across the UK and around the world. It is part of Sir Robert McAlpine, the British engineering and construction group. RES has been at the forefront of the wind energy industry since the early 1980s and has to date completed more than 30 wind farms. RES moved into Beaufort Court in November 2003. The renovation of the derelict Ovaltine Egg Farm buildings into a sustainable, zero-emissions development was supported by the EU. Beaufort Court has won a number of awards, including the 2004 Business Commitment to the Environment Award, the Eastern Region RIBA Award (Royal Institute of British Architects) and was shortlisted for the prestigious RIBA Schuco Sustainability Award   In 2005 RES won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise (Sustainable Development). Directions: Beaufort Court is on Egg Farm Lane, Kings Langley, Herts WD4 8LR. From Jct 20 of the M25, follow the signs to Kings Langley (A4251) and then turn right at the first roundabout onto Home Park Mill Link Road. At the end of this road, turn left onto Station Road. Egg Farm Lane is 100 metres along the road on the right (opposite Roman Gardens). Go under the railway bridge and follow the signs up the hill to Beaufort Court. The office is also just a short walk from Kings and follow the signs up the hill to Beaufort Court. The office is also just a short walk from Kings Langley station. For a map, visit our website www.res-ltd.com CONTACT: Anna Stanford, Media Officer, RES: +44 (0)1923 299203 or +44 (0)776 1103465 Email: anna.stanford@res-ltd.com Web site: www.res-ltd.com