Havering Friends of the Earth

Green Belt protection

A letter to Cllr Keith Prince, leader of Havering Council

Dear Cllr Prince,

I am writing to you in concern for Havering's green belt land. Our green spaces are regularly touted by the council as the pride of the borough and yet residents continue to witness a growing threat to its erosion through multitudes of unsustainable, undemocratic, and poorly conceived developments. If this position persists unimpeded, then eventually Havering will be no longer able to boast that half of its land is designated as Metropolitan Green Belt. The council must outline a long term vision for Havering's green belt.

A key objective of the Havering Local Plan adopted in 2021 is to "Protect and enhance Havering's Green Belt", but this signalling has not been honoured, most blatantly evidenced by the council's decision to pursue an LDO approach to the East Havering Data Centre. Most recently the housing development proposed on Benets Road stands in stark contrast to the findings from the local plan that there is "no planning justification for releasing land from the Green Belt" for new homes, because other suitable sites are clearly already available.

There are many more such examples – not least the mechanism for downgrading green belt to "grey belt" – and there has been no clear vision set out by Havering leadership for what long term protections will be put in place for the Havering green belt. This demands a view beyond the term of office that recognises and addresses the chronic threats it faces – at a time when green spaces are becoming increasingly acknowledged for the critical benefits they provide for a society at risk of environmental and mental health crises.

Reform won an historic victory in Havering. One of your first actions was to rescind the declaration of a climate emergency. This does not signal a commitment to Havering's environment and health. While acknowledgements of green spaces (but not green belt) in the recently published 100 day plan are welcome, there are other questions that demand an answer:

• What is your long term vision for Havering's Green Belt?
• What actions will you take to protect it during and beyond your term of office?
• During the Strategic Planning Committee on 3rd March, you pledged that Reform would scrap the LDO – will you still honour this?

Yours sincerely,

Joshua Anthony
Havering Friends of the Earth