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  "path": "/news/hertfordshire-greenbelt-field-bulldozed-rejected-council-high-court",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-08T06:16:39.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Unsuspecting families risk being turfed out of homes after council reveals they were illegally built",
    "British beauty spot to be swamped by 3,500 new homes as locals rage at 'ludicrous' council plans",
    "Council orders dad to tear down 'safe haven' he built for son after murder on his street",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nA greenbelt field is set to be bulldozed to make way for nearly 200 homes, despite its planning application being rejected by a council three times and being thrown out by the High Court.\n\nThe land in Radlett, Hertfordshire, has now been given the go-ahead for 195 homes under Labour's so-called \"grey belt\" rules.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe plans from developer Fairfax Properties were rejected by the council, which was upheld by the planning inspector. An appeal was dismissed by the High Court in July 2024.\n\nBut Fairfax resubmitted the proposals under the new grey belt rules, introduced by former Housing Secretary Angela Rayner to target previously-developed land which did not contribute to the aims of the greenbelt.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\nThe proposal was accepted under the grey belt rules, despite the inspector admitting the development would harm the landscape, character and appearance of the area.\n\nSir Oliver Dowden, the former Deputy Prime Minister and local MP, said he was \"disappointed\" in the planning inspector's decision.\n\nHe told the Mail: \"This land was patently green belt.\"\n\nThe Tory MP said the \"only reason\" the development had been approved was because of \"Labour’s fiction of the 'grey belt'\".\n\n\"Across Hertsmere and the rest of the country, large tracks of pristine Green Belt are being redesignated by developers as 'grey belt' and fast-tracked to being built on,\" he added.\n\nThe plans to develop Radlett had been ongoing since 2021.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nPaul Sennett, 63, has lived in the town for 35 years, and said the inspector \"ignored local wishes\" by allowing the development to go through.\n\n\"Democracy is doomed if this is how things are going to be done,\" he said.\n\nAnd 27-year resident Angela Thomson said she did not understand how the grey belt rules applied to the grassy field.\n\n\"To my knowledge it has remained undeveloped for decades and is essentially a green field,\" she said.\n\nAldenham Parish Council said it was \"greatly disappointed\" by the decision and said the change was a \"significant shift for our local landscape\".\n\n### PLANNING ROWS - READ MORE:\n\n\n\n\n  * Unsuspecting families risk being turfed out of homes after council reveals they were illegally built\n  * British beauty spot to be swamped by 3,500 new homes as locals rage at 'ludicrous' council plans\n  * Council orders dad to tear down 'safe haven' he built for son after murder on his street\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nA Fairfax Properties spokesman said it welcomed the inspector's decision, adding the development would be \"high-quality\" and \"sustainable\".\n\nIt said it would make a \"positive contribution\" to the town, with plans including almost 100 affordable homes.\n\nResearch from CPRE, the countryside charity, revealed 88 per cent of grey belt developments were previously undeveloped countryside.\n\nIn April 2024, Sir Keir Starmer described they grey belt as \"poor-quality scrubland, mothballed on the outskirts of town\".\n\nBut CPRE's chief executive said in December the definition of grey belt was \"vague, subjective and misleading to the public\".\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe charity said 1,250 homes will be built on undeveloped countryside as a result of the grey belt policy.\n\nA Ministry of Housing spokesman said it did not comment on individual cases but added '\"all areas must play their part to help us build 1.5million homes that this country needs\".\n\n\"Our major planning reforms will help ensure more homes are built in the right places for communities and not at the expense of the environment.\"\n\nA spokeswoman for Hertsmere Council said the authority was \"very disappointed\" that its decision was not upheld but added the Planning Inspectorate was \"an independent appellate body that considers the application afresh based on the evidence presented to it\".\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Picturesque greenbelt field to be bulldozed for nearly 200 homes - despite being rejected by council AND High Court"
}