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Amended | Original

This bill was submitted by Alan Z. H. Chiang MP, on behalf of Her Majesty's Government, with amendments by Zach Henderson MP, the Rt Hon. Dame Ashley K. Fletcher MP, the Rt Hon. Dafydd Llwyd MP, Dustin Crowe MP, and the Rt Hon Sir Nicholas Clack OOBC, Baron Milton Keynes.

This bill underwent a report stage in the Commons on 2019-10-06, and a committee stage in the Lords on 2019-10-25 to 2019-10-26.

Green Belt Reform Bill

A Bill to relax Green Belt restrictions on certain areas to allow development of new housing and commercial space.

Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

1 Definition of "agricultural land"

  1. Land is recognized as being agricultural if:
    1. It is being used primarily for the purpose of raising crops meant to beharvested or be harvested or left fallow. (Lords Amendment D)
    2. It does not have a substantial level of biodiversity.
  2. Land is "biodiverse" if it is determined to be a habitat for a significant variety of native wild species.
    1. A significant variety is defined as having more than one-third of the following animals:
      1. Rodents, consisting of multiple of the following:
        1. Beavers
        2. Voles
        3. Mice
        4. Rats
        5. Dormice
        6. Squirrels
      2. One or both of the following:
        1. Hares
        2. Rabbits
      3. One or more of the following:
        1. Moles
        2. Shrews
        3. Hedgehog
      4. Bats
      5. Carnivorans, consisting of multiple of the following:
        1. Foxes
        2. Martens
        3. Weasels
        4. Otters
        5. Badgers
      6. One or both of the following:
        1. Boars
        2. Deer
    (Lords Amendment AC)

2 Definition of "transit zone"

  1. A "transit zone" is the area of land that is within 3 km 2 km (Lords Amendment H) of a transit stop.
  2. A "transit stop" can be a
    1. Subway station Tube station (Amendment B)
    2. Rail station
      3. c. Bus stop (Amendment J)
    3. Tram stop

3 Removal of Green Belt restrictions

  1. Ordinances restricting construction of residential and commercial buildings shall be lifted on agricultural land within transit zones.
  2. Upon passage of this law, the Secretary of State shall undertake a survey of all existing transit zones and determine which land within the transit zones are agricultural, and thus will designated for a trial community to (Lords Amendment N) have restrictions lifted, by consulting a panel of experts.
  3. Upon the completion of a new transit stop, the Secretary shall undertake a survey of its corresponding transit zone, consulting a panel of experts, and determine which areas in the new transit zone shall have restrictions lifted.
    4.  (Lords Amendment N)
  4. Upon completion of the initial survey, the Secretary of State shall make public a map of areas for which restrictions have been lifted.
  5. The Secretary shall update the map with further areas where restrictions have been could be (Lords Amendment N) lifted upon the completion of subsequent surveys.
  6. Restrictions will be lifted in a single trial area only, and the Secertary shall make further recommendations to lift restrictions in other areas.
  7. This single trial area shall last for five years before further restrictions can be lifted at the discrection of the Secretary.
    8.  (Lords Amendment N)

4 Qualifications and Appointment of Members of the Panel

  1. The experts selected for the panel which will survey the transit zone must hold Doctor of Philosophy degrees in ecology and have work experience in that field. It is suggested that the people who are selected for the panel will be members of authority that have degrees in Ecology and Environmental Studies, and are from all areas of society. (Amendment A)
  2. The Secretary shall have discretion to determine how many experts are needed for the panel to promptly complete its work.
  3. The members of the panel must first be sourced from the scientific staff currently employed by the civil service.
  4. If the Secretary determines that they are unable to source a sufficient number of experts internally, they may hire outside experts for the task.
  5. Outside experts hired for the panel shall be compensated at Staff Grade 4.
  6. Experts hired from within the civil service shall be compensated at their previous grade if the previous grade was Staff Grade 4 or higher. They shall be compensated at Staff Grade 4 if their previous grade was lower.

5 Housing Restrictions in New Developments

  1. There can be no low density housing or factories (Lords Amendment S) developed in the areas of the Green Belt.
    1. Low density housing is defined as being below 30 dwellings/hectare.
    2. Factories are defined as places that manufacture goods that are made via unskilled labour, via automation or by more than five people. (Lords Amendment S)
  2. These new developments will be encouraged to be Car Free Zones, with incentives mandated by the Secretary of State at their discretion.
  3. All developments must have plans for local community centres and recreational activities.
  4. All developments must have a working plan for sustainable energy use and a report on minimising carbon emissions. (Amendment H)
  5. A panel of experts will be formed to implement Housing Restrictions in the New Developments to promote sustainability, minimal carbon emissions, and ways to ensure the development has net negative or net neutral effect on carbon emissions and carbon capture over the current status of extant Green Belt land.
  6. The panel shall consist of those who have obtained Doctorates of Philosophy in their respective fields, and have work experience in said fields.
  7. The panel must include, but not be limited to, those in the field of climate science, ecology, engineering, urban development, infrastructure, and transportation.
  8. The panel shall be selected by the Secretary of State, who shall determine the number thereof, and the members of the panel must first be sourced from the staff currently employed by the civil service.
  9. If the Secretary determines that they are unable to source a sufficient number of experts internally, they may hire outside experts for the task.
  10. Outside experts hired for the panel shall be compensated at Staff Grade 4.
  11. Experts hired from within the civil service shall be compensated at their previous grade if the previous grade was Staff Grade 4 or higher. They shall be compensated at Staff Grade 4 if their previous grade was lower. (Amendment I)
  12. The ground floor of all buildings constructed in these new developments must be reserved for commercial or residential development, with a density of commercial establishments being at least 25% of all ground floor construction. (Amendment AC)

6 Short title, commencement and extent

  1. This Act may be cited as the Green Belt Reform Act 2019.
  2. TThe The (Amendment AD) Act comes into force on the passing of this Act. royal assent. (Lords Amendment Y)
  3. This Act extends to England & Wales. the whole United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. (Lords Amendment Z)
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