Supporting Text:

This policy seeks to establish a plan-led approach to determining where proposals for minor and major housing development may be deemed ‘not inappropriate development’ in Green Belt. It will only operate during periods when it can be demonstrated that there are unmet housing needs and it does not apply to non-housing proposals.

The policy expressly does not allocate land for development as it is not possible for neighbourhood plans to allocate land in the Green Belt nor release land from the Green Belt – these are matters for strategic (Local Plan) policy only. Nor does it imply that proposals that are deemed ‘not inappropriate’ will be supported, as other policies of the development plan and national policy will be applied.

This policy has been informed by the Ashley Green Grey Belt Study completed in August 2025 following the update to Government policy and guidance in February 2025. The Study applied that policy and guidance to determine firstly which of the Parish’s three settlement are sustainable locations and concluded only Ashley Green and Whelpley Hill met that definition (per the criteria of NPPF §110 and §115). It assessed that Orchard Leigh is too small and remote from local and public transport services, with no reasonable prospect of that changing without a fundamental shift in future strategic spatial planning policy.

The Study has defined a settlement boundary for each of Ashley Green and Whelpley Hill, using the adopted Local Plan Policy GB4 boundaries as a starting point for this specific purpose. They do not entirely coincide with the boundaries used for infilling in Policy AGWH2, which serve a different purpose. It then identifies sites (as ‘assessment areas’ per the guidance) adjoining those boundaries to apply the NPPF §155 and §156 criteria in relation to proposals for minor and major housing development.

In respect of the §156 Golden Rules, the study has assessed the accessibility of land to the A416 public transport services and to existing publicly accessible green spaces, or where new green spaces could be provided in a suitable location, and of a suitable size, to meet the needs of new and existing residents. Determining if a proposal meets the Golden Rule in respect of its affordable housing provisions does not fall within the scope of this policy.

The policy also establishes what is considered to be an appropriate scale of total housing development over the plan period at Ashley Green and Whelpley Hill that reflects their small sizes, limited facilities and modest active travel opportunities (see Appendix A). It therefore allows for a small number of minor housing schemes, or perhaps one major scheme, in each village.