Barnet Council has pushed back against London mayor Lord Sadiq Khan's proposal to open up the green belt for more housing development, citing "significant concerns" over key elements of the draft London Plan.
The Labour-run council has been tasked with provisionally building almost 33,000 homes over the next decade, including 7,000 on green belt land, as part of the mayor's ambition to deliver 558,000 homes across London by 2037.
Concerns over housing targets and green belt release
In a letter to the mayor from Neeru Kareer, the council's assistant director of planning and building control, Hendon Town Hall said its "principal concerns relate to the evidential basis for the proposed housing targets" and the "reliance on significant Green Belt release to achieve those targets".
The letter, signed off by the council's cabinet on Monday, follows work by a cross-party joint working group including both Labour and Conservative councillors, as well as council officers. Hendon Town Hall is run by a Labour minority administration.
Green belt development criteria
The draft London Plan describes how developments on green belt land could be acceptable if they meet "sustainable location tests". The plan allows for "residential-led" schemes if "the vast majority" of new homes are located either "within 400m" of an eligible bus route or 1.2km — "15 minutes walk" — from a select list of railway stations.
Barnet was identified as having up to seven "well-connected train stations" near "broad locations for growth" that contain green belt land. The Metropolitan Green Belt is a protected ring of countryside across Greater London designed to protect the capital's urban sprawl.
Local plan context and initial pushback
Every 15 or so years, each London borough council must create a local plan outlining development targets and how it intends to meet them. The new Barnet Local Plan was adopted in March 2025. The mayor's London Plan is a wider document setting out planning policy across the capital, giving guidance for each borough council.
Initial pushback from the council came shortly after the publication of the draft proposals in July, when the local authority warned that the mayor "does not have the remit" to make direct changes to the borough's Green Belt as part of any new London Plan. In a statement published alongside its draft proposals in July, the mayor's office said the draft London Plan "sets out a bold vision for the capital and is a blueprint for building a fairer, greener and more prosperous London for everyone over the next two decades".
