Minister backs green belt campaign

Dinnington and Anston campaign group Save Our Greenbelt has had a welcome boost from a Government planning minister.

In a letter from Conservative MP Nick Boles to Rother Valley MP Kevin Barron, he welcomes the fact that many of the views of the group ‘align closely with our policy’.

“The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that the Government attaches great importance to the Green Belt, the fundamental purpose of which is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open,” he said.

“Most types of development are inappropriate in the Green Belt and should not be granted other than in exceptional circumstances, and Green Belt boundaries revised only in exceptional circumstances through the Local Plan.”

He also agreed there was ‘much’ brownfield land that could be put to better use.

The action group, which puts regular updates on its website www.saveourgreenbelt.info, has written to Rotherham Council objecting to the use of green belt land in its draft Local Plan for development which is currently out for consultation.