A green and pleasant land?

Karthi Gnanasegaram
The Politics Show London

These Plane Trees are the essential lungs of London

Is this a green and pleasant land - or are we tightening the Green Belt?

London could be about to lose its lungs... a white paper expected this spring just may make the greenbelt tighter by relaxing rural protection rules.

If that should happen, speculators that have already bought large areas of greenbelt land, could be given the green light they have been waiting for to start building.

Greenbelt land was first introduced in London in 1938.

It was a planning tool to restrict the urban sprawl, provide open green space and protect the countryside by encouraging developers to regenerate towns instead of building in the country - often the cheaper, easier and quicker option.

A small percentage of greenbelt land has been built on over the years when the government has approved planning applications under "very special circumstances".

Brownfield sites¿

It couldn't be conceivable that Hampstead Heath could be affected - or could it?

Old industrial parks, or large areas of previously developed land, known as brownfield sites, are supposed to be the first option for new developments.

But towns near London, like Stevenage and Harlow, are relatively new developments themselves so they are devoid of many brownfield sites.

Hertfordshire needs to provide just under 100,000 new homes in the next 10 years, and the possibility that greenbelt land could be used for a third of those depends on the forthcoming white paper.

Sian Berry leader of the Green Party joins us in the studio.

Also on the show - the Olympic overspend. And our guests will be Bob Neil MP, Conservative and Alan Keen MP, Labour.

The Politics Show London

Join the Politics Show team on Sunday 18 March 2007 at 12:00 GMT on BBC One.

Use the reply form below to let Politics Show London know what you think...

---