• news-banner

    Expert Insights

Green Belt Openness

The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster) v North Yorkshire County Council and Dorrington Quarries [2020] looked again at the issue of development which is not inappropriate, provided openness in the Green Belt is preserved and the development does not conflict with the purposes of including land in the Green Belt, in paragraph 90 of the 2012 NPPF (paragraph 146 of the current NPPF). A similar Green Belt appropriateness issue was considered at length in our client’s High Court and Court of Appeal cases of Europa Oil and Gas v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and Ors, back in 2013 and 2014. There both Courts held that mineral exploration formed part of extraction, so the same Green Belt openness test was to be applied. 

The Supreme Court in the Samuel Smith case considered whether it was necessary (rather than just permissible) to take landscape and visual impacts into account, in deciding whether openness was preserved. It was held unanimously that it was not necessary to take them into account (and so it was not necessary to apply a Tesco v Dundee level of legal analysis in considering whether openness was preserved or not, but instead a Hopkins Homes broader approach). Lord Carnwath confirmed that “visual quality of landscape is not in itself an essential part of the “openness” for which the Green Belt is protected”, nor was the visual impact so obviously material here, as to require such direct consideration. The issue which had to be addressed, as a matter of planning judgement, was therefore whether the proposed mineral extraction, through the extension of the quarry, would preserve the openness or otherwise conflict with the purposes of including the land in the Green Belt. The planning officer’s report was held to have considered the broad policy concept of Green Belt openness appropriately and so the Council was correct to have accepted it and allowed the development. This Supreme Court judgment should now reduce the scope for legal challenges of decisions on openness.

Our thinking

  • IBA Annual Conference 2025

    Simon Ridpath

    Events

  • Next Gen Rural Professionals Drinks Reception

    Events

  • Triple Play "Bid Fever": UK Tech's ability to scale and go global

    Mark Howard

    Quick Reads

  • The Future of AI and Copyright Regulation in the UK: The Data (Use and Access) Bill finally gets Lords approval in the UK

    Rebecca Steer

    Quick Reads

  • HM Land Registry's Digital Drive - Delays Persist but perhaps there is light at the end of the tunnel?

    Maisy-Jane Cook

    Quick Reads

  • Key aspects of the FCA’s PISCES Sourcebook

    Jodie Dennis

    Insights

  • Mike Barrington and Mary Perham write for Tax Adviser on what the proposed changes to business property relief mean for investors and entrepreneurs, and for their businesses

    Mike Barrington

    In the Press

  • Bloomberg quotes Catrin Harrison on the recent exodus of non-doms from the UK

    Catrin Harrison

    In the Press

  • Trusts and Matrimonial Disputes in England

    Tom Watts

    Insights

  • The Financial Times and Daily Mail quote Emma Humphreys on the impact of the UK Government's Spending Review on housebuilding targets

    Emma Humphreys

    In the Press

  • Alumni Drinks Reception

    Events

  • Consultation on Private International Law and Digital Assets Law Commission Proposes Landmark Reforms

    Racheal Muldoon

    Insights

  • Navigating International M&A Disputes: Insights and Strategies for 2025

    Stephen Burns

    Quick Reads

  • Bridging Differences: The Role of Mediation in Resolving Cross-Border Trust Disputes

    Tamasin Perkins

    Insights

  • Planning essentials case update: what changes can I make to my listed building?

    Sadie Pitman

    Quick Reads

  • Rachel Warren writes for Solicitors Journal on the new failure prevent fraud offence

    Rachel Warren

    In the Press

  • MoneyWeek quotes Mary Perham on whether business property relief can be claimed on a furnished holiday let

    Mary Perham

    In the Press

  • Anti-greenwashing in the UK, EU and the US: the outlook for 2025 and best practice guidance

    Caroline Greenwell

    Insights

  • Landmark rulings from the Italian Revenue Agency on income tax exemption on gains from Italian shares held in trust

    Nicola Saccardo

    Quick Reads

  • Sowing doubt: slashing green farm funding is a risk we can't afford

    Maddie Dunn

    Quick Reads

Back to top