Green belt plan for Wales

The countryside is being threatened by development

Plans to halt further destruction of the countryside have been unveiled by the Welsh Assembly.

The assembly has developed proposals for "green belts" in Wales to act as buffer zones and contain the spread of development into the rural areas.

Environment Minister Sue Essex first raised the issue in January.

The proposals form part of a new set of planning guidelines set out in the consultation document Planning Policy Wales.

Sue Essex: Green vision

The revised rules emphasise the requirement for a local planning authority to consider green belts as an option for protecting certain areas.

In England, the system has encouraged making use of brown land and disused sites.

Ms Essex explained the changes to the assembly's environment, planning and transport committee.

"This latest version of the planning guidance places more emphasis on green belts, which I believe can bring enormous benefits to Welsh communities," she said.

The significant benefits that green belts bring cannot be ignored

Sue Essex, Assembly Environment Minister

"The updated approach means that local planning authorities should consider the need for green belts in all areas where there are pressures for development."

Ms Essex also explained that councils and communities were best placed to identify which areas are best suited green belts.

"These are valuable open areas of land that help protect the distinctive identities of our communities and which need to be given long term protection from urban development."

Ms Essex explained that green belts need not necessarily be in the form of a continuous band around an urban area.

"However, the significant benefits that they bring cannot be ignored and this revised guidance will ensure that local authorities consider them as an option to protect these important areas."