2022 has certainly been a year of political change. In the planning policy arena, potential changes have been debated and discussed, but with the progress of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill proving sluggish, they still seem some way off.

Change needed in existing policy
Issues on which change is urgently required include nutrient neutrality and electrical capacity, which have created moratoriums in many local planning authorities (LPAs), and Green Belt reform.  

The issue that repeatedly stymies any real change in Green Belt policy is public perception: the belief that it exists to protect the most valuable countryside. Green Belt designation is not a value judgement on the land in question; it is now an outdated policy, applied with a broad brush, which often restricts sustainable growth and thus increases house prices in some of the most housing stressed areas of country. Reform is needed, not necessarily to eradicate Green Belt policy, but to change the public discourse around the matter and remove local and national political influence.  

Carter Jonas has, through appeal, succeeded in gaining planning consent on Green Belt land on the outskirts of Cambridge. The scheme, which was for a care village, also included a country park, providing public access and contributing substantial environmental enhancements. But such examples are rare and without any shift in opinion, we are unlikely to see meaningful change to national policy.