Burnley Borough Council is currently preparing a new Local Plan to guide development in the area
to 2032.
LUC were appointed by Burnley Borough Council to undertake a review of the pre-existing Green
Belt boundary around Burnley, Padiham and Hapton, and to consider whether land included within
the current Green Belt continues to serve the purposes identified in the National Planning Policy
Framework (NPPF).
The review makes recommendations on the potential to remove land from, or include land within the Green Belt, provided that the Borough can demonstrate the ‘exceptional circumstances’ required for such changes by NPPF.
The Green Belt review will inform the preparation of the Borough’s emerging Local Plan, complementing separate studies on housing capacity, employment land and retail capacity.
The Green Belt Review is an evidence base study and its recommendations to remove or add any parcels of
land, will, if appropriate, be included in the proposals set out in the Local Plan and be subjected to the rigours of the plan-making process and public consultation thereon.
Parcels of land with potential to be released from the Green Belt in the review will not necessarily be allocated for development in the Local Plan, and similarly, land that is recommended to be retained within the Green Belt may still be allocated for development (and removed from the Green Belt) should insufficient ‘developable’ and ‘deliverable’ sites to meet development requirements be identified outwith the Green Belt.
You can download a copy of the Review from the Downloads section on the right hand side of this page.