Since 1995 an estimated 96,000 new homes have been built on the greenbelt which is around 3.5% of the 2.7 million homes built in England between 1995 and 2014. In 2001, the market peak, 6,700 homes were built on the protected space which had fallen to 3,248 by 2014.
The research, carried out by Countrywide, found the decline in the use of greenbelt land began before the financial downturn. There was a 36% rise in the number of homes built in England between 2001 and 2007 compared to a 46% decline in the numbers built on greenbelt.
Last year, 1,575 homes were built on the London greenbelt, which made up 48% of all such development in England. London has also seen the most homes built on the protected land since 1995 at 39,100.
Johnny Morris, group research director, Countrywide said: “Many of these development sites would be at odds with common perceptions of greenbelt. Rather than picturesque countryside being concreted over these sites were either brownfield, infill schemes or unused land with little amenity value.”
Morris said that a sustained pressure to increase the supply of new homes particularly in the South coupled with government plans to take a tougher stance on local authorities using out of date processes meant greenbelt building was likely to grow in future years.
“Just returning to the rates of development on greenbelt seen in the early noughties would yield an extra 5,000 new homes a year,” he added.
