Polling suggests Labour’s proposed rebrand of unattractive green belt land to “grey belt” land could win significant extra support for housebuilding.
The poll of over 1,000 Londoners found that voters’ backing for proposed development increases by a whopping 50% when described as “grey belt” instead of “green belt”.
The policy is a key plank of Labour’s pledge to get Britain building much-needed homes, with Sir Keir Starmer today unveiling five “golden rules” for building homes on his newly labelled ‘grey belt’ land.
Speaking today, Sir Keir said his government will oversee a boom in building rates, not just of affordable homes but infrastructure, schools and GPs.
Pledging to “take on the blockers and back the dream of home ownership”, he promised that a Labour government will implement five rules.
- Brownfield first – Within the green belt, brownfield land must be prioritised for development
- Grey Belt second – Poor quality and ugly areas of so-called Green Belt land will then be prioritised
- Affordable homes – Plans must target at least 50% affordable housing when land is released
- Boost public services – Development plans must boost public services and local infrastructure
- Improve green spaces – Nature spots will be improved, made accessible to the public and see new woodland, parks and playing fields.
Sir Keir said: “We’ll prioritise ugly, disused grey belt land, and set tough new conditions for releasing that land”.
“Our golden rules will also ensure any grey belt development delivers affordable homes, new infrastructure and improved green spaces.
“We will get tough on the blockers to back hard-working aspirational Brits, deliver the homes and local services that communities deserve, all while protecting access to genuine green space.”
The polling further suggests the grey belt proposals will prove popular.
Asked by Stack Data Strategy for MacMic Group, nearly 50% more of the 1,182 Londoners aged 16 or older said they would back housing when the land is described as ‘grey belt’ rather than ‘green belt’.
It also revealed that building on brownfield land in a local area attracts most support (49%), whereas building on the green belt saw support of -15%.
Grey Belt land, such as former land-fill or scrubland but that is within the greenbelt, won net support of 32%, however.
When told that “because of the higher cost of building on brownfield sites, building on Green Belt and greenfield land delivers many more affordable new homes”, net support increased by 28%.
Only 13% of Londoners could correctly identify the correct definition of ‘green belt’ when given a series of possible explanations, suggesting ample opportunity to persuade voters of the benefit of developing so-called green belt land.
Kieran Kumaria, Managing Director at Stack Data Strategy, said: “People don’t understand what the Green Belt is, and our polling shows that the ‘grey belt’ formulation is very effective in increasing support for development”.
“For developers looking to understand the best ways to win over opinion, our research shows a nearly 50% increase in support for development when the land is described as “grey belt” rather than Green Belt.”
