Some 27,000 homes could now be approved for construction due to the grey belt reclassification, analysis from development site firm Searchland has revealed.

Some 3,425 planning applications have been rejected since 2010 due to being located on green belt land that would now be classified as grey belt.

Should these planning applications be revisited and granted approval, it could bring an estimated 27,197 new homes to the market, with an estimated market value of £12.2bn.

Hugh Gibbs, co-founder of Searchland, said:

“With the grey belt now formally recognised by the National Planning Policy Framework, developers are benefitting from a significant increase in the number of opportunities available to them.

“As our previous research found, the grey belt could potentially deliver 3.4m new homes to the market, but it’s not just current grey belt plots that need to be considered.

“Since 2010, no less than 3,425 planning applications have been rejected due to the fact they were located in green belt land.

“With the creation of the grey belt, the likelihood is that these applications are well worth revisiting as they could lead to the construction of thousands of new homes with a market value to the tune of £12.2bn.”

The South East is home to the highest proportion of rejected planning applications that could now be approved, accounting for 21% of the national total, with the potential for 9,001 new homes to be delivered with a market value of £4.8bn. Some 19% of rejected applications were found within the East of England with the potential to deliver 4,215 new homes.

The North West was also home to a considerable proportion at 16%, followed by London (12%), the West Midlands (10%) and Yorkshire and the Humber (10%).

Kindly shared by Property Wire Picture courtesy of Adobe