Green belt assessments

We cover England. Green belt policy in Scotland and Wales is a different system, and we do not take that work.

Green belt assessments

A green belt assessment answers three questions. Is the site in the green belt? Is the proposal inappropriate development? If it is, what does current policy require before permission can be granted?

The assessment uses the Council's development plan and the National Planning Policy Framework. The framework in force from August 2026 changed how some green belt land is treated, including grey belt. Where those provisions apply to the site, the assessment says so. The NPPF 2026 briefing sets out the framework. The assessment applies it to one site.

You get the assessment before a full set of drawings is commissioned. If the case is weak, we say so before you pay an application fee.

Strategic land

Strategic land is land that is not yet allocated for the development you have in mind, or land being put forward for a future plan. The planning question is whether to promote it through the local plan, make an application now, or wait.

We give that planning view in writing: the constraints, the policy, and a frank prospect. We are not land agents. We do not buy, sell, or option land.

Garden assembly

Garden assembly means bringing garden land together, often more than one garden, so it can be considered as a development site. Private residential gardens are not treated as previously developed land. Putting them on one plan does not change that.

The case has to deal with the character of the area, trees, access, neighbours, and what the development plan says about building on garden land. A garden assembly that ignores those points is refused on character, whatever the arithmetic of the site area. We say at the start whether the assembly is a site worth drawing.