A done deal: how new schools are being built on protected land in London

It shows that this is happening because:

• The Government’s Education Funding Agency is involved with identifying and acquiring Green Belt and MOL sites which are not identified in the local plan – and thereby applying pressure to planning authorities to consent to the development

• The liberalisation of the planning system has given a strong arm to developers – who can argue that almost anything trumps the protection provisions – in this case ‘need for school places’

We want politicians at all levels to stop just saying they support the continued protection of Green Belt and Metropolitan Open Land, and actually stop allowing or pushing for development on these protected green spaces. Instead support high quality, high density housing that meets local needs; use brownfield land first, not greenfield; regenerate run down areas; provide funding for restoration of contaminated land.

We want Government and the London Mayor to recognise that the liberalised planning system is allowing important policy provisions to be ignored, and to therefore strengthen it. We want Government to be more specific on the limited circumstances in which Green Belt or Metropolitan Open Land boundaries can be changed through local plans.

• December 2015
• PDF: A_done_deal_-_a_CPRE_London_report_-_lowres