'I began to see what a sacred cow the Green Belt has become' said Minister for Housing & Local Government Richard Crossman in 1964.

The Green Belt is a political behemoth that has long loomed over the planning system. In this episode Sam Stafford asks Paul Miner, Strategic Planning & Devolution at CPRE, and Kathryn Ventham, Planning Partner at Barton Willmore, whether housing need is becoming a sufficiently irresistible force to shift hitherto immovable Green Belt boundaries?

Twitter handles: @samuel_stafford. @PaulMiner3 and @kateventham.

Some accompanying reading and viewing:

John Grindrod’s ‘Outskirts’

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jun/14/outskirts-by-john-grindrod-review

Ipsos Mori polling for the CPRE on public attitudes towards the Green Belt

https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/attitudes-towards-green-belt-land

Ipsos Mori polling for Housing The Powerhouse on attitudes towards housing development in Greater Manchester

http://www.housingthepowerhouse.com/downloads/Housing%20the%20Powerhouse%20-%20Ipsos%20MORI%20Opinion%20Poll%20Press%20Release.pdf

'The Green Noose: An analysis of Green Belts and proposals for reform' by the Adam Smith Institute

https://www.adamsmith.org/news/press-release-free-up-3-7-percent-of-londons-green-belt-to-build-one-million-new-homes-says-new-report

‘Planned up and be counted ‘ local plan making under NPPF 2012’ by Lichfields

https://lichfields.uk/content/insights/planned-up-and-be-counted

‘This Blessed Plot – This Other Eden’ - A film for the Council for the Preservation of Rural England

https://www.britishpathe.com/video/rural-england-aka-this-blessed-plot-this-other

‘The myth of the countryside idyll’ by Steve Middlehurst

https://stevemiddlehurstidentityandplace.wordpress.com/2016/10/10/a5-research-the-myth-of-the-countryside-idyll/

Keith Joseph’s 1964 South East Study

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/19/newsid_2570000/2570681.stm

A Policy Briefing Paper by the Landscape Institute

https://www.landscapeinstitute.org/policy/green-belt-policy/

The London Society’s Position Paper

https://www.londonsociety.org.uk/post/londons-green-belt

‘The Proud City’ – A film outlining plans for the post war reconstruction of London, featuring Patrick Abercrombie and JH Forshaw.

https://archive.org/details/ProudCity