The Nottingham and Derby Green Belt is a
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 ...
environmental
A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
and
planning policy for the cities of
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...
and
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
in the
East Midlands region of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It includes designated parts of several
districts in the surrounding
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
and
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...
. Management is mainly performed by the
local planning authority
A local planning authority (LPA) is the local government body that is empowered by law to exercise urban planning functions for a particular area. They exist in the United Kingdom and India.
United Kingdom
Mineral planning authorities
The role ...
(a
district council in many cases) on guidance from central government.
Purpose
The fundamental functions for the belt are to prevent
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 merging of the outlying areas surrounding the two cities by restricting development, in order to preserve the countryside; protect the environment from inappropriate
urban growth
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 maintain the individuality of settlements. While this is an overall definition provided by central government,
local councils then refine the extents and can review these as required.
[
The belt avoids major areas of population, thereby granting larger villages and towns more leeway with development within the confines of their boundaries. It however 'washes' over smaller settlements and hamlets, these smaller locales thus given very little scope for expansion except in exceptional cases, with any infrastructure plans being put to greater public scrutiny and stricter controls more likely to be levied on any permitted work.][
]
Geography
Land area taken up by the belt is as of 2017. The belt completely overlaps the Nottingham built-up area as well as beyond. It is contained within these districts, and encloses the following local settlements:
Along with the above, small portions of green belt exist within both cities on their rural fringes.
The Bolsover
Bolsover is a market town and the administrative centre of the Bolsover District, Derbyshire, England. It is from London, from Sheffield, from Nottingham and from Derby. It is the main town in the Bolsover district.
The civil parish for th ...
, Mansfield and North West Leicestershire
North West Leicestershire is a local government district in Leicestershire, England. The population of the Local Authority at the 2011 census was 93,348. Its main towns are Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Castle Donington, Coalville and Ibstock.
The ...
districts border the belt, but do not contain any part of it.
History
The Green Belt was first considered in Derbyshire in 1955 for the immediate region between the cities (South East Derbyshire Green Belt). It took several years to define the boundaries to some accuracy after local and government consultation. It was
adopted in April 1983 by central government, with a more specific local plan being adopted from September 1994.
See also
* Green belt (United Kingdom)
In British town planning, the green belt is a policy for controlling urban growth. The term, coined by Octavia Hill in 1875, refers to a ring of countryside where urbanisation will be resisted for the foreseeable future, maintaining an area wher ...
* Nottingham Urban Area
The Nottingham Built-up Area (BUA), Nottingham Urban Area, or Greater Nottingham is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics as which is built upon, with nearby areas linked if within 200 metres - see the List of urban a ...
References
External links
Interactive map of green belt land
{{coord missing, Nottinghamshire
Green belts in the United Kingdom
Environment of Derbyshire
Environment of Nottinghamshire
Nottingham
Derby