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London Green Belt Council – Green is now Grey

Please read this paper detailing grey belt sites: Green belt is now grey belt.

Foreword

The London Metropolitan Green Belt (LMGB) as a planning policy has been hugely successful in containing the capital and preventing urban sprawl. In 1940 London and Los Angeles were of a similar area and if London had been allowed to sprawl to the extent that Los Angeles has grown, it would stretch from Brighton to Cambridge.

The LMGB has many economic, social and environmental benefits, apart from its role to restrict urban sprawl and encourage urban regeneration. It protects the capital from flooding and provides opportunities for carbon sequestration, nature regeneration and biodiversity. It provides important physical and mental health and welfare benefits for the city’s inhabitants, and opportunities for recreation and sport as well as food security and rural activities.

The introduction of grey belt has already resulted in the loss of open countryside, often of high quality, as can be seen in the photographs in this paper. It is leading to speculative and piecemeal development with ten out of the twelve planning appeals in 2025 being allowed for proposed development in the London Green Belt where the sites were identified as grey belt.

These sites are not previously developed land, such as redundant petrol stations or car parks, as originally intended. The present definition of grey belt enables the revoking of protection of Green Belt, as is recognised by developers and their legal representatives.

The Government’s grey belt policy is leading to the destruction of the Green Belt whose benefits will not be enjoyed in future. If this policy is not reversed, future generations will live to regret it.

Richard Knox-Johnston
Chair
The London Green Belt Council 		Peter Waine OBE
Chair
CPRE Hertfordshire

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By R.D.R.A., ago

Criminals stole over £879 million through investment fraud in 2025

Message from Report Fraud.

Victims of investment fraud lost an average of £1,675 every minute last year, new figures from the City of London Police, the National Lead Force for Fraud, have revealed.

Criminals stole £879.8 million through investment fraud last year – an average of £2.4 million a day.

In 2025, 34,673 people reported investment fraud to Report Fraud, the national service that replaced Action Fraud in December 2025. This marks a 31 per cent rise on the previous year. The rise in reporting is not only linked to an increase in investment fraud, but also due to the point at which victims realise what has happened. Reports began climbing steadily from March and spiked in July and September when many people review their investments, move money into new products or check their returns ahead of the new financial year.

As part of wider fraud‑prevention work, we are urging the public to take simple steps to protect themselves.

  • Before making any investment, use the FCA’s firm checker tool, to confirm whether a firm or individual is authorised. The tool can be accessed via the FCA website and is one of the most effective ways to avoid cloned firms and bogus advisers.
  • We encourage anyone considering an investment to be cautious of unsolicited messages, adverts promising unusually high returns, or requests to keep the offer “confidential”.
  • You can also contact the Financial Conduct Authority’s consumer helpline on 0800 111 6768 or report suspicious businesses or individuals by using the reporting form on their website.

Any suspicious activity should be reported to Report Fraud as soon as possible at www.reportfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, victims of fraud and cybercrime should report to Police Scotland on 101.

By R.D.R.A., ago