Sadiq Khan drops pledge to protect green belt from London mayoral manifesto

Sadiq Khan has described the capital’s trees as ‘the lungs of London’ – Getty Images/Leon Neal

Sadiq Khan has dropped his pledge to protect the green belt from his manifesto, despite promising to create a “greener London for everyone”.

It is the first time the Mayor of London, who is seeking a third term in office, has not included a commitment to oppose building on green belt land in his manifesto.

This year, Mr Khan featured implementing Ulez and its expansion last year as one of his key achievements in the manifesto, but he does not mention the green belt or his plans for it at all.

It comes after Labour set out nationwide plans for house-building on the green belt, which include prioritising areas of “grey belt” land such as disused car parks or scrubland.

In the 2021 London mayoral campaign, Mr Khan put “opposing building on the green belt” as the sixth point of his Green New Deal for London.

“The green belt remains important for endangered wildlife and biodiversity, as well as being our city’s lungs,” he wrote. “I’ll continue to oppose building on the green belt, which is as important today as it was when it was created and, other than in exceptional circumstances, protect London’s playing fields from development.”

The Labour Mayor said parts of the green belt that constitute “poor quality green space” were “under threat”, adding: “I’ll work on rewilding, planting orchards and forests to strengthen the green belt’s defence against development.”

In the manifesto for this year’s London mayoral election, which takes place on Thursday, he described the capital’s trees as “the lungs of London” and put forward as one of his achievements that more than half a million had been planted since 2016.

He pledged to expand “access to green spaces” and to help “nature to flourish in the city”.

Susan Hall, the Conservative candidate, said the green belt was “London’s green lungs” and pledged that it would be “fully protected” if she became mayor, “unlike Sadiq Khan whose allies are threatening to develop on it”.

A spokesman for Mr Khan said: “Protection of the green belt is already enshrined in Sadiq’s 2021 London Plan, which is a plan for many years ahead and will remain in force after the election.”

In April, Sir Keir Starmer revealed his “five golden rules” for building on the green belt, which include prioritising areas of “grey belt” land.

The Labour leader, who declared himself a “Yimby” – “Yes in my back yard” – at his party’s conference in October, has pledged to build 1.5 million homes over the next Parliament. He said politicians had to be “honest” about the need to build on green belt land to deliver enough homes.

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