Edinburgh’s Green Belt

The concept of a Green Belt policy was identified post World War Two when the construction and development of buildings increased significantly. New residential developments, hospital and amenity buildings were being constructed at a quick pace. Concerns arose over the preservation of the natural landscape and expansion of major cities. It was indentified something had to be done to monitor and control the rate of growth in and around the cities and to prevent coalescence.
Sir Frank Mears a highly influential figure in Town and Country Plotting in Scotland first brought forward the thought in 1948 in the Regional Survey and Plot for Central and South-East Scotland. He identified the need to distribute development to the most appropriate locations, protect the character of the landscape and provide open space and green space in and around towns and cities. The first Scottish Green Belt policy was officially introduced in Edinburgh in 1957.
“The objectives agreed by the participating local authorities in 1956 were:

• to help in limiting further expansion of the city;
• to prevent the merging of built-up areas;
• to prevent the use of agricultural land for development;
• to preserve and enhance the landscape setting of the Capital

Since the introduction of the Edinburgh Green Belt other cities and towns throughout Scotland have followed introducing their own Green Belt policies under similar objectives.
Looking in more detail at the Edinburgh Green Belt Policy it has been constantly under review and scrutiny with modifications and adaptations introduced over the years, but the original boundaries have not been significantly changed. In a review in 1965 areas classified as green fingers were added to the policy, such areas included Corstorphine Hill, Holyrood Park and Water of Leith Valley.
In terms of Plotting Law the Green Belt Policy has played a very influential role with restriction on Plotting and Development. Local authority planners do not want the view that the policy identifies an area of land that can’t be touched or built on, but to encourage development within established areas and make sure land it place to the best possible use.
In terms of Plotting Law the green belt policy will highly influence development around cities. The policy is referred to during the formation of Local Plans for guidance on the most suitable areas for development. This statement emphasises the Green Belt Policy is not constitute development boundaries but one of the prime objectives is to control development around cities. A clear example of this is the West Edinburgh Plotting Frame (WEPF). A long term structure plot made by Edinburgh City Council, The Scottish Executive/Government and Scottish Enterprise. The west side of the city provides the principle gateway from the rest of the country. A vast area of west Edinburgh includes designated Green belt but does contain developed sites such as Edinburgh Business Park and The RBS Headquarters. These sites were granted permission by plotting authorities after the conclusion this location was the most appropriate and would not affect the character of the surrounding area as much as it might have on different parts of the Green Belt.

The policy provides a useful context to regulate development in and around cities. Without the policy it would be a lot harder to control the level of development and preserve the natural landscape.