The Gloucester and Cheltenham Green Belt is a green belt environmental and planning policy that regulates the rural space throughout mainly the South West region of England. It is completely within the county of Gloucestershire. Essentially, the function of the designation is to prevent further convergence between the conurbations of Gloucester and Cheltenham. [1] It is managed by local planning authorities on guidance from central government.
Land area taken up by the green belt is 6,694 hectares (66.94 km2; 25.85 sq mi), 0.05% of the total land area of England (2010). [2] It is mainly within Tewkesbury district, [3] with small portions within the fringes of the Cheltenham [3] and Cotswold [4] districts. Innsworth is the largest community within the green belt.
Landscape features and facilities within the area include Staverton Airport, Cheltenham Racecourse, rivers Chelt, Swilgate and Hyde Brook, Imjin Barracks and MOD Boddington, several parks and woods, Briarfields campsite, Churchdown and Crickley hills, and the Church of the Holy Trinity in Badgeworth.
Much of the boundary is formed by local roads such as the A38 and the M5. The green belt lies next to the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Due to it lying across the Gloucester-Cheltenham metropolitan area, responsibility and co-ordination lies with local unitary and district councils as these are the local planning authorities.
The green belt was first drawn up in 1968 with the Gloucestershire Development Plan. The Gloucestershire County Structure Plan in 1981 extended this to include an area north of Cheltenham to protect the green space between Cheltenham and Bishop's Cleeve. No portion was defined within Gloucester as the city boundary is drawn tightly around the urban area. [5]
The Cotswolds is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jurassic limestone that creates a type of grassland habitat that is quarried for the golden-coloured Cotswold stone. The predominantly rural landscape contains stone-built villages, towns, stately homes and gardens featuring the local stone.
Gloucestershire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire to the east, Wiltshire to the south, Bristol and Somerset to the south-west, and the Welsh county of Monmouthshire to the west. The city of Gloucester is the largest settlement and the county town.
Cheltenham is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the most complete Regency town in Britain.
Tewkesbury is a market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town grew following the construction of Tewkesbury Abbey in the twelfth century and played a significant role in the Wars of the Roses. It stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon, and thus became an important trading point, which continued as railways and, later, the M5 and M50 motorway connections were established. The town gives its name to the Borough of Tewkesbury, a local government district of Gloucestershire. The town lies on the border with Worcestershire, marked largely by the Carrant Brook.
Churchdown is a large village in Gloucestershire, England, situated between Gloucester and Cheltenham in the south of the Tewkesbury Borough.
Cheltenham is a constituency in Gloucestershire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1832. As with all constituencies, it elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years. Since 2015, its MP has been Alex Chalk, who was appointed Secretary of State for Justice in 2023.
Tewkesbury is a constituency in Gloucestershire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 1997 recreation by Laurence Robertson, a Conservative.
Dumbleton is a village and civil parish in the Tewkesbury district, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. The village is roughly 20 miles from the city of Gloucester. The village is known to have existed in the time of Æthelred I who granted land to Abingdon Abbey, and it is mentioned in the Domesday Book.
Gloucestershire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Gloucestershire, in England. The council was created in 1889. The council's principal functions are county roads and rights of way, social services, education and libraries, but it also provides many other local government services in the area it covers. The council's administrative area does not include South Gloucestershire, which is a unitary authority with all the functions of a county and a non-metropolitan district. The council is based at Shire Hall in Gloucester.
Gloucestershire Victoria County History is an encyclopaedic history of the county of Gloucestershire in England. It forms part of the overall Victoria County History of England founded in 1899 in honour of Queen Victoria. With twelve volumes published in the series A History of the County of Gloucestershire, the Gloucestershire Victoria County History is about halfway through its history of all the parishes in the county. Ten volumes have been published to date, and a further four volumes are in preparation.
Cotswold Commons and Beechwoods is a 665.5-hectare (1,644-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1954.
Crickley Hill and Barrow Wake is a 56.8-hectare (140-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1974.
Cheltenham Borough Council is the local authority for Cheltenham, a non-metropolitan district with borough status in Gloucestershire, England. The council is based at the Municipal Offices on the Promenade.
The Borough of Tewkesbury is a local government district with borough status in Gloucestershire, England. The borough is named after its largest town, Tewkesbury, which is where the council is based. The district also includes the town of Winchcombe and numerous villages including Bishops Cleeve, Ashchurch, Churchdown, Innsworth and Brockworth as well as other hamlets and surrounding rural areas. Parts of the district lie within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The Nottingham and Derby Green Belt is a green belt environmental and planning policy for the cities of Derby and Nottingham in the East Midlands region of England. It includes designated parts of several districts in the surrounding counties of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Management is mainly performed by the local planning authority on guidance from central government.
The West Midlands Green Belt is a statutory green belt environmental and planning policy that regulates the rural space within the West Midlands region of England. It is contained within the counties of the West Midlands, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Essentially, the function of the green belt is to more rigorously manage development around the cities, towns and villages in the large West Midlands conurbations centred around Birmingham and Coventry, discouraging convergence. It is managed by local planning authorities on guidance from central government.
The South West Hampshire & South East Dorset Green Belt is a green belt environmental and planning policy that regulates the rural space in the South West region of England. It is mainly within the county of Dorset, extending cross border into Hampshire. Essentially, the function of the belt is to control development expansion in the South East Dorset conurbation and outlying towns and villages. It is managed by local planning authorities on guidance from central government.
The Avon Green Belt, also known as the Bristol and Bath Green Belt, is a non-statutory green belt environmental and planning policy that regulates urban expansion and development in the countryside surrounding the cities of Bristol and Bath in the South West region of England. It covers areas in Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset, Mendip, and Wiltshire. Essentially, the function of the green belt is to limit urban sprawl and maintain the open character of areas around the Bristol and Bath built up areas, and nearby towns and villages. The policy is implemented by local planning authorities on the basis of guidance from central government.
North Cotswolds is a newly created constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it will first be contested at the next general election.
