The City of York Green Belt is an environmental and planning policy that regulates the rural space within the

Yorkshire and the Humber Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The population in 2011 was 5,284,000 with its largest settlements being Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, and York. It is ...

region of England. The York city

green belt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which ...

is within the county of

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

. The policy's core function is to manage development around

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

and the surrounding area, preserving its setting and historic character, discouraging

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

, and the convergence of outer villages into the city's built up areas. It is managed by local planning authorities on guidance from central government.

Purpose

There are five aims for the green belt around York: * Maintain the city's historic setting and character; * Keep the urban sprawl of York in check; * Preserve the surrounding countryside from development; * Stop nearby settlements converging towards each other; * Promoting the recycling of

brownfield In urban planning, brownfield land is any previously developed land that is not currently in use. It may be potentially contaminated, but this is not required for the area to be considered brownfield. The term is also used to describe land prev ...

or other urban land.

Geography

Formally created in 1980 after being an interim policy since the 1950s, the local

development plan A development plan sets out a local authority's policies and proposals for land use in their area. The term is usually used in the United Kingdom. A Local Plan is one type of development plan. The development plan guides and shapes day-to-day dec ...

defines the green belt outer edge as being 'about 6 miles from York'. Land area taken up by the green belt is hectares (0.2% of the total land area of England (2010). The green belt nearly covers the city except for built-up area and larger surrounding villages. It extends into the North Yorkshire districts of Hambleton,

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa w ...

Ryedale Ryedale is a non-metropolitan district in North Yorkshire, England. It is in the Vale of Pickering, a low-lying flat area of land drained by the River Derwent. The Vale's landscape is rural with scattered villages and towns. It has been inh ...

, and

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse, with a population at the 2011 census of 14,731. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until ...

. The rural areas and smaller villages of the district are "washed over" by the green belt, meaning there is limited development scope in these areas:

Acaster Malbis Acaster Malbis () is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of the City of York, England. It is located on the River Ouse, almost south of York. Nearby are the villages of Copmanthorpe to the north-west, Bishopthorpe 2 miles to ...

, Askham Bryan,

Askham Richard Askham Richard is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of City of York in the north of England, south-west of York, close to Copmanthorpe, Bilbrough and Askham Bryan. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was ...

, Deighton,

Heslington Heslington is a suburban village and civil parish within the City of York district, in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England, south-east of the centre of York. Before 1974, it was a village in the Derwent Rural District, which was p ...

, Hessay, Holtby, Hopgrove, Knapton, Murton, Naburn and Rufforth. Because the York city green belt covers several adjacent districts, responsibility and co-ordination lies with the city and local district councils whose land is included.

References

External links

Interactive map of green belt land
{{Green belts (United Kingdom) Green belts in the United Kingdom Environment of North Yorkshire Geography of York Politics of York

Purpose

Geography

See also

References

External links