Polling finds ‘near universal support’ for protecting green belt land

Countryside campaigners have highlighted the “near universal support” for green belt land revealed in a new poll to mark their centenary.

Research was carried out for both Action to Protect Rural Scotland (APRS) and the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) revealing 86% of Britons – including 85% of those surveyed in Scotland – consider such protections important.

Planning restrictions heavily limit what development can take place on land designated as green belt in the UK.

But Kat Jones, director of APR, warned there are now “new threats” to these areas “especially with the speculative rush for applications for battery storage and data centres”.

She added: “As Scotland’s countryside charity, this polling is a challenge to us to step up and speak out for our countryside which so many people love and want protected.”

The research, carried out by More in Common, found that 84% of Britons – including 83% of people in Scotland –  believe it is possible to build the homes the UK needs while still safeguarding the countryside for future generations

Overall, the survey found  89% of people in Britain  – including 92% in Scotland – feel it is important that the countryside is protected for future generations.

Three-quarters (75%) of people across  Britain feel local landscapes and the countryside need to be better protected – with more than half (52%) of Scots (52%) believing these areas need to be much better protected.

Dr Jones said: “It is fascinating to see the near-universal support that green belts have with the public because it is one of the policies that APRS has championed throughout our history, starting with campaigning to have them introduced in the 1940s.

“We are seeing new threats to green belts now, especially with the speculative rush for applications for battery storage and data centres.”

The director of the charity, which helped set up the National Trust for Scotland in 1931, added: “We are really proud of what APRS has achieved since we were founded 100 years ago, but the threats to our countryside and nature are greater than ever.

“This poll is encouraging because it shows how important people think protections for our countryside and landscapes are.”

Deborah Long, chief officer of Scottish Environment LINK said the polling was “the latest evidence of the incredibly high support for actions to protect our nature, habitats and countryside in Scotland”.

She added: “The overwhelming public support to restore nature and landscapes has been reflected in the passing of the Natural Environment Bill last week which will bring in legal targets for nature.

“This can only be achieved with improving the protection of our countryside.”