Green belt Nimbys are ruining young people's lives, warns developer
Green belt Nimbys are wrecking the lives of young people by blocking developments that create much-needed jobs, one of Britain's biggest developers has warned.
Lynda Shillaw, chief executive of FTSE 250 group Harworth Group, said objection to construction projects on green belt land was stopping the creation of local opportunities for younger generations.
Ms Shillaw told The Telegraph: 'The biggest voting generation today went through the closure of pits and people not having jobs for 40 years – but now they're more bothered about whether that field there is going to be built on. That stops development.
'[We're] looking at a whole generation of young people whose life chances are significantly diminished, because we can't bring jobs or skills to an area that needs it.
'I grew up in a Yorkshire mining village, so this really resonates with me. It's not just about their economic wellbeing their ability to earn, learn a trade or a profession and progress. It's about their health outcomes, which are much worse as well.
'So actually, we've got to get over having a relative minority blocking stuff that's for the greater good.'
Her views echo Sir Keir Starmer, who has vowed to 'push past Nimbyism' to unlock major development projects.
The Prime Minister's planning reforms have redesignated large swathes of green belt land as 'grey belt' areas – making it easier to build homes on.
The green belt was introduced in 1947 to contain post-war urban sprawl but it has since grown to cover nearly 13pc of all land in England.
Harworth owns 14,000 acres of land across Britain and recently sold land to Mike Ashley's Frasers Group for its global headquarters on the green belt in Warwickshire.
Its housing projects include turning a former coal mining site in Yorkshire into a 3,890-home neighbourhood called Waverley.
Government policy over the past two decades has focused on developing 'brownfield' land, the term used for used land that has been left derelict and can be redeveloped.
However, Ms Shillaw said the policy meant there was 'simply not enough' brownfield land in Britain to build on.
'It feels wrong that something that happened post-war has not been repeatedly revised in terms of what [the Government] needs to deliver its industrial strategy.
'The battle over the green belt is a challenge, but it's also a total red herring, because if you want growth, you need to look at where the best places are to spend your pounds.'
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