The loss of natural habitats and a lack of transport creating “cut off” communities were cited by Croydon’s Executive Mayor
Croydon Mayor Jason Perry has slammed a plan to build 5,600 homes on the borough’s green belt, saying a lack of adequate transport links would cut new residents off from the rest of London.
Sadiq Khan’s draft London Plan includes what Perry describes as the “imposition” of thousands of homes on Croydon, which is the only South London borough explicitly expected to build on green belt land under the blueprint for development across the capital over the next 25 years.
Croydon will oppose the draft plan, with Perry arguing the borough can meet its housing target without building on the protected land, which gives Croydon and London a natural separation from Surrey.
“The big issue with the green belt is once it’s gone it’s gone, we are not going to get that land back,” Perry told London Assembly Members at a Housing Committee meeting last Wednesday (September 2).
He joined a panel alongside Lewisham’s Green Mayor and Hammersmith and Fulham’s Labour Council Leader to discuss the potential impact of the draft plans on their boroughs.
Under the draft plan, currently out for consultation, Croydon has been given a ten-year housing target of 21,544 homes, including 15,944 on brownfield – post-industrial – land and 5,600 on green belt land. This marks a significant change from the previous 2021 plan, which did not include green belt housing allocations.
Perry said meeting the four per cent increase in Croydon’s overall housing target from the 2021 plan was “probably realistic”, but described the new green belt allocation as an “imposition” on the borough.
Why does Perry oppose green belt development?
Perry argued that building thousands of homes away from established infrastructure risked creating “cut-off” communities.
The draft London Plan says green belt development should be focused on locations close to “well-connected” transport hubs. In Croydon, this includes areas near the National Rail and Tramlink networks.
However, Perry argued that the Tramlink network, which serves many of the areas closest to Croydon’s green belt, would not be able to cope with such an influx of residents.
“The tram network are not well connected stations,” he said, describing its stations as “bus stops on rail”.
“To suggest we can build nearly 6,000 homes on the back of that is just not going to work, particularly without any investment,” he added. Perry raised New Addington as an example of a community that struggled with isolation before the introduction of the Tramlink.
Perry’s view on infrastructure was shared by Hammersmith and Fulham’s Stephen Cowan, who said poor transport provision meant parts of South London were “still about 100 years behind places in North and West London.”
Beyond transport, Perry questioned how homes could be built on the green belt without major investment in infrastructure, including roads, electricity, gas and water.
“The reality is there is nothing there,” he said. “We already have issues with water pressure across the borough, we are seeing our water pressure depleting by the day.”
He therefore called for an “infrastructure first” model, with major investment needed to support communities provided before housing is built.
Perry also argued that brownfield and stalled sites should be prioritised, arguing that City Hall and the Government should focus on sites that already have planning permission, ensuring these homes are built before green belt land is considered.
“If we’re not careful and suddenly distract and move away to the green belt we will also be taking away regeneration opportunities for our town centres,” he told the committee.
Elsewhere, Perry also called for a less directive London Plan, arguing that councils understood their own areas better than City Hall.
Housing and the green belt
Under the draft plan, green belt developments would need to meet a higher affordable housing standard of 50 per cent to be approved. Developments would also need to protect the landscape, deliver biodiversity net gain and provide an average of three hectares of new or newly accessible green space for every 1,000 residents.
However, Perry believes the green belt is “sacrosanct” and should not be built on at all costs. “It provides eco-diversity around our places, it’s that block on development, it’s that urban sprawl being stopped by the green belt,” he told the committee.
Announcing its opposition to the plans in July, the council said: “By 2025, London boroughs had already approved planning permission for more than 300,000 homes across the capital.
“The council believes this shows that simply allocating more land and increasing housing targets will not solve London’s housing shortage.”
Concluding the announcement, Perry added: “Whilst I am Mayor, Croydon Council will always stand up for our green belt and for the right of local communities to shape the places where they live.”
Croydon Council has submitted its opposition to the draft London Plan ahead of the October 15 consultation deadline.
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