EIR - Bromley Green Belt assessment [Sep 2026]

Dear London Plan Team,

I am writing regarding the London-wide Green Belt Assessment undertaken by LUC for the Greater London Authority, which has now been published as part of the evidence base supporting the Draft London Plan.

I am particularly interested in the assessment of Green Belt land within the London Borough of Bromley, including the land at and surrounding Scrubs Farm / Princes Plain, Lower Gravel Road, Bromley.

I have reviewed the published London-wide material but have been unable to locate the underlying parcel-level assessment data and GIS mapping necessary to identify the individual assessment parcels affecting this land.

I understand from the GLA's published evidence that the London-wide assessment considered more than 1,000 individual Green Belt parcels, with each parcel assessed against the relevant Green Belt purposes and assigned an individual contribution rating. I also understand that the parcel boundaries and assessment scores were developed with input from participating and commissioning London boroughs.

I would therefore be grateful if you could provide the following information:

1. The GIS/spatial dataset used for the London-wide Green Belt Assessment, showing individual parcel boundaries and parcel reference numbers, preferably in GeoPackage, shapefile or other GIS-compatible format.
2. The underlying parcel assessment schedule/database, showing for each parcel the assessment against the individual Green Belt purposes, including the contribution rating and any associated assessment commentary.
3. The data or schedule identifying those parcels considered to have potential to meet the NPPF definition of grey belt.
4. In particular, identification of the parcel reference number(s) covering Scrubs Farm / Princes Plain and adjoining land in the London Borough of Bromley, together with the individual Green Belt purpose assessments applying to those parcels.
5. Any Bromley-specific report, appendix, map, assessment schedule or other output prepared by LUC as part of the London-wide exercise.
6. Any final parcel-level dataset or assessment information supplied by LUC to the GLA in electronic form which underpins the maps and conclusions contained within the published London-wide Green Belt Assessment.

I appreciate that the London-wide assessment is strategic in nature and does not itself determine whether an individual site is suitable for development. I am not requesting a planning opinion or asking the GLA to determine whether Scrubs Farm constitutes grey belt. I am requesting the underlying environmental information and assessment data upon which the published study is based.

The distinction is important because the GLA's published London Plan Green Belt Strategic Approach Report states that the assessment analysed more than 1,000 Green Belt parcels, that each parcel was assigned a contribution rating, and that parcel boundaries and assessment scores were developed with input from the participating and commissioning Green Belt boroughs.

Please treat this email as a formal request for environmental information under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

If any of the requested information is already publicly available, I would be grateful if you could provide the specific URL or download location for the dataset concerned, rather than a general link to the London Plan evidence library.

If any part of the information is held by LUC on behalf of the GLA, or was provided to the GLA in connection with the commissioned assessment, I would be grateful if that information could also be considered within the scope of this request.

If you consider that any part of my request cannot be disclosed, please identify the specific information being withheld, the exception under the Environmental Information Regulations upon which you rely, and the reasons why the public-interest test favours withholding that information.

Our response

The information that you have requested is already all available and published as part of the London-wide Green Belt assessment report in PDF format. For every borough, mapping is available which provides a rating against each Green Belt purpose in turn, as well as the areas considered to be potentially meeting the grey belt definition (based on GB purpose alone).

For Bromley, please see figures 3.19/3.20 (purpose A); 3.21/3.22 (purpose B); 3.23/3.24 (purpose C); 3.25/3.26 (purpose D); and 3.27/3.28 (potential grey belt). Purpose E has not been mapped, as explained in the report methodology.

However, I note that you have also requested this information in an alternative format. I am currently working with our consultants with the aim to publish a GIS data set with this information so that it is also available in an alternative format – I will update you again once we have managed to upload something online (hopefully within the next week).

Please note that this data relates to strategic plan-making evidence and is not intended to replace the need to undertake site-level analysis for a specific development site. It also cannot provide any final determination on the presence of grey belt given the tests in the NPPF and the limited nature if the study.