Planning system to acknowledge need for change in greenbelt areas

There were also calls for sustainability criteria for new planning applications to be updated as proposals find
themselves put into the unsustainable category for outdated reasons.

Applications were being classed as unsustainable due to a lack of access to a bus stop or local bank.

Fenella Collins, CLA head of planning, said: “Many thousands of villages are put into unsustainable category
because housing needs assessment is based in types of services that are no longer available.”

She suggested a more modern measure such as broadband access for sustainability so people can work from
home would be more appropriate.