Green belts: A review of the regions' responses to a changing housing Agenda

Recent changes in planning and planning for housing have altered organisational arrangements, strengthening regional planning and housing remits. Like other planning policy agendas, housing policy has also been expected to become more sustainable, resulting in changes in its approach. Most recently, it has been required to focus more on ensuring better housing delivery. This paper reflects on the implications of these changes' on green belt policy making at the regional level. It concludes that the emphasis on finding sustainable housing solutions in conjunction with the need to find more housing land has indeed put pressure on some regions to adopt a more flexible green belt approach.