England's 14 Green Belts cover more than a tenth (12.4%) of land in the country, and provide a breath of fresh air for 30 million people. 

Our Green Belts help prevent urban sprawl, and protect our countryside from encroachment, but did you know they're home to 19% of all traffic free cycle routes and 34% of Community Forest land?

Explore these and other surprising facts in our Green Belt factsheets. 

This landmark report brings together, for the first time, information on the state of Green Belt land and compares this to other areas of England. We provide evidence that the 1.6 million hectares of Green Belt provide a rich and varied natural environment and many related benefits to society. The ecosystem services provided by Green Belt land are highly significant and have an economic value that is often underestimated or simply not understood. We conclude that these areas could take on an even greater significance in the face of climate change, England’s growing population and the need for a low carbon economy. They can also help in creating a healthier society through providing space for active outdoor lifestyles and nutritious locally grown food.

This report summarises the key findings of 'Nature Conservation and Recreational Opportunities in the Green Belt', produced for CPRE by environmental consultants ADAS.

Local authorities can reclassify areas as Greenbelt and also remove areas from the Green Belt.A number of local authorities have moved their Green Belt boundaries since 2010/11. This report analyses development in activity in these areas following their declassification as Greenbelt land.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published polygon datasets showing each English local authority’s Green Belt land for each financial year from 2010/11 to 2017/18, with the exception of 2012/13.

These datasets have been cross-referenced with Glenigan’s construction project database to identify development activity in areas following their removal from the Green Belt.

Providing space to unwind, engage with nature - and also grow our food - the Green Belt is the countryside next door for 30 million people in some of our largest and most historic cities. The urgent need to help us address the climate emergency and give people more opportunity to engage with nature means that our Green Belts have never been more important.

Yet this space is under threat like never before: from the impacts of climate breakdown to development in the countryside. CPRE, the countryside charity has published regular reports detailing development proposals on the Green Belt since 2012. This report highlights the unprecedented proposals for building housing in the Green Belt, squandering this valuable asset at a time where it is needed for our own health and wellbeing, and to address the climate emergency, more than ever before.

This report provides data and analysis of the pattern of development in English Green Belts since 2009.

The analysis covers planning applications for residential and large industrial & commercial new build projects in the Green Belts and analyses the number and success rate of such applications over the ten financial years from 2009/10 to 2018/19.

The analysis is based upon residential and non-residential planning applications and projects tracked and researched by Glenigan.