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New hope for residents in fight to save city's green belt – BBC

A green belt is an area of open, largely undeveloped land surrounding a city, protected by planning rules that limit building on it. These zones exist to stop urban sprawl, preserve countryside and farmland, and give city dwellers access to open space. Councils and developers sometimes seek to build on green belt land, usually to meet housing targets, which often puts them at odds with local residents and campaign groups who want the land left as it is.

Disputes like this typically involve a local council or planning authority weighing housing need against environmental and community concerns, developers proposing new housing or infrastructure schemes, and residents' groups campaigning to block or amend those plans. National planning policy also plays a role, since government guidance can make it easier or harder for green belt land to be released for development.