The Green Belt in Northumberland forms part of a wider area of Green Belt designation surrounding the conurbation of Tyne and Wear. Since the original designation in 1963, the Green Belt in Northumberland has undergone a number of modifications, with areas being added to as well as removed from the Green Belt. This Northumberland Local Plan consolidates the boundaries defined in the Local Plans and Core Strategies of the former Tynedale, Castle Morpeth and Wansbeck districts, and the Borough of Blyth Valley, and identifies the detailed boundaries of the Green Belt around Morpeth. The Northumberland Local Plan identifies the full extent of the revised Green Belt in Northumberland, as defined on the Policies Map.
Nationally, the Government attaches great importance to the Green Belt. The NPPF states that the fundamental aim of Green Belt policy is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open, and that a key attribute of land in the Green Belt is its openness.
The NPPF sets out the five purposes of the Green Belt, which are to:
- Check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas;
- Prevent neighbouring towns from merging into one another;
- Assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment;
- Preserve the setting and special character of historic towns; and
- Assist in urban regeneration, by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land.
The main function of the Green Belt in Northumberland is to prevent the unrestricted sprawl of the Tyne and Wear conurbation by keeping land permanently open. The protection of the Green Belt is a key element of the Plan’s development strategy. In line with the purposes of the Green Belt identified in the NPPF, the strategic approach to the Green Belt in Northumberland is set out in Policy STP 7.
Policy STP 7: Strategic approach to the Green Belt (Strategic Policy)
- The Green Belt within Northumberland will be protected to:
a. Check the unrestricted sprawl of Tyne and Wear;
b. Safeguard the countryside from encroachment;
c. Prevent the merging of: Newcastle upon Tyne with Ponteland, Newcastle Airport, or Cramlington; and North Tyneside with Cramlington or Blyth;
d. Preserve the setting and special character of Hexham, Corbridge and Morpeth;
e. Prevent Morpeth merging with neighbouring settlements;
f. Prevent the merger of rural settlements; and
g. Assist in the regeneration of settlements in South East Northumberland beyond the Green Belt.
Description taken from the Northumberland Local Plan 2016 - 2036.
