Hounslow Council set to destroy Green Belt the size of 200 football pitches

Plans to build over 125 hectares of Green Belt are unnecessary and unjustified, and will cause appalling congestion and pollution, say campaigners.

Campaigners at CPRE London (1) have responded to the London Borough of Hounslow’s West of Borough Regulation 19 Consultation (2) which closes today 24 September 2019.   Alice Roberts of CPRE said: “London is incredibly lucky to have Green Belt – it has saved us from even more appalling traffic and pollution which is the most serious impact of urban sprawl. Building on these huge areas of Green Belt would lead to increased traffic and pollution in an area already beset by major air quality and congestion issues.

“Our Green Belt is also protecting our countryside, sites needed for sports and recreation and our top grade agricultural land – vital for our food security. And it is also keeping our temperature under control, managing increasing flood and heavy rainfall events and providing important habitat: many of the sites proposed for development are also Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (known as SINCs).  

“We do not need to build on our Green Belt. We have so much derelict and poorly-used space in London which can be redeveloped. Most worrying, the council is ignoring the potential for nearby sites to be used much more efficiently.

“It will be catastrophic to London’s air quality and our ability to manage climate change to lose any of our Green Belt. Hounslow council’s proposals contravene the government and the London Mayor’s policy and it will be an absolute travesty if any Planning Inspector allowed any London Borough to do this.”

ENDS

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

1. CPRE London www.cprelondon.org.uk is a membership-based charity with 2,500 members around London, which campaigns to save Green Belt, Metropolitan Open Land and other green spaces within Greater London, and to make our capital city a better place to live for everyone.  We are a branch of the national environmental charity, the Campaign to Protect Rural England.
2. https://haveyoursay.hounslow.gov.uk/planning-policy/local-plan-regulation-19-consultation/

Download –

CPRE London Draft Response HounslowWBLP Sept 2019_1