Gove Announces No Need for Building on Green Belt to Meet Housing Targets

Housing Secretary Threatens Intervention for Slow Councils, Critics Fear Fewer Homes Will Be Built

UK Housing Secretary Michael Gove announces that local councils will not be required to build on green belt land to meet housing targets, in a move to promote house-building without 'concreting over the countryside'.
Gove threatens to intervene if councils do not act quickly enough in their planning departments, and names seven councils that have failed to submit a local plan for housing since 2004.
The government's revised National Planning Policy Framework will allow local authorities to set lower housebuilding targets if they can argue that sticking to the formula would change the character of an area or necessitate building on greenbelt land.
Critics argue that the changes will result in fewer homes being built and that the government is already struggling to meet its target of building 300,000 new homes a year.
Gove also pledges to approve the building of more than 150,000 homes around Cambridge and to increase competition by setting aside land for development by small builders.