A BRISTOL planner has called for a new approach to the green belt in order to address the housing crisis affecting the city and other hotspots around the UK.

Tom Stanley, associate director in Colliers International’s Bristol planning team, which covers the West of England and Wales, believes a more pragmatic approach is needed towards green belt land to tackle soaring prices fuelled by a lack of housing stock.

He has cited the forthcoming feasibility study into a new link road for the M4 motorway as an example of the potential benefits of a more holistic approach.

This study comes at a time when Bristol has been identified in the Lloyd’s Bank affordability ratio as being in the top four of UK cities showing the sharpest home value increases year-on-year.

Mr Stanley said: “Bristol is now ranked alongside London, Oxford and Cambridge for rising property prices, showing a 12.5 per cent increase in the 12 months to February 2015.

“Lack of supply is a factor in this situation, and in this context there is a need to take a more pragmatic approach to the emotive issue of green belt development.

“Times have changed since the green belt was introduced across the UK in 1955.

He continued: “We now have a housing crisis in areas such as Bristol, and I believe it would be sensible for green belt sites to be judged upon the basis of individual merit alongside vigorous assessment when appropriate.

“A good example of this would be the forthcoming feasibility study into a new M4 motorway junction linking to the A4171 Avon Ring Road.

“My hope is that the consultation to determine the best location for the junction runs parallel with evidence gathering on housing development near to transport connections and an examination of green belt in the area via the West of England Joint Strategic Plan.”

The government announced £500,000 funding in the spring budget for a study into the construction of a new Junction 18A for the M4.

It has been estimated that the new road would open up at least 7,000 jobs as well as taking pressure off the M4, M32 and other major roads around north and east Bristol, in particular the A4171 Avon Ring Road.

Mr Stanley said: “It is fantastic news that funding has been provided for a study to identify the most suitable location for a much-needed new junction to connect the M4 to the A4171.

“This should be seen as an opportunity to forward plan in a sustainable way for the eventuality that there will be growth, rather than seen in isolation as an exercise in highway planning.

“It has been estimated that the new road will attract new business investment and a highly-skilled workforce to the Emersons Green Enterprise Area and the Bristol and Bath Science Park.

“Those thousands of new workers will also create an inevitable demand for housing.

“This growth cannot be ignored, not least because it is in keeping with the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework.

“Therefore, in addition to looking at transport connections, it is also important that the council takes into account the location and housing development, and to examine whether the policy of protecting green belt is outweighed in some areas by the need to find suitable sites for new homes.

“The aim of the green belt is to restrict development sprawl, but where there is green belt land that can be released without causing a convergence of settlements, and the effect on openness is the only issue, then that should be the focus of due consideration.”