This bill was submitted by the Hon. Alan Z. H. Chiang MP, on behalf of Her Majesty's Government.

Green Belt Reform Bill

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
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.

2 Definition of "transit zone"

1. A "transit zone" is the area of land that is within 3 km of a transit stop.
2. A "transit stop" can be a
1. Subway station
2. Rail station
3. Bus stop
4. 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 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. 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 lifted upon the completion of subsequent surveys.

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.
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 Short title, commencement and extent

1. This Act may be cited as the Green Belt Reform Act 2019.
2. TThe Act comes into force on the passing of this Act.
3. This Act extends to England & Wales.