Greenbelt Watch is updated as releases are confirmed. Each entry links the release to the record: the same newspapers that reported these releases spent years telling readers Greenbelt land was worthless. Both stories ran at the same time. This section holds them side by side.
Ongoing series
Greenbelt Watch
Every week, councils across England release Greenbelt land for development. This is the tally. The same land the press once called worthless.
AnalysisThe Asset Has Not Changed
The contradiction at the heart of a decade of Greenbelt coverage.
DataGreenbelt Released Every Week
The numbers behind the headlines.
Releases this month
Essex
Oct 2026
Cray's Hill — village boundary extended for new homes
Land next to the former plot-land estate near Billericay moves into the local plan.
Buckinghamshire
Oct 2026
Greenbelt parcel released near Pinewood Studios expansion
Council approves housing on Greenbelt after years of national coverage of the studios.
Nationwide
Ongoing
Grey-belt reclassifications accelerate across England
The weekly tally of Greenbelt land opened for development under the new framework.