Harrow Council Votes to Oppose Draft London Plan Over Green Belt Concerns
Harrow councillors have voted to oppose the draft London Plan, citing concerns that it will significantly increase housing targets and threaten the borough's Green Belt.
The council meeting on Thursday, October 1, 2026, saw a motion passed that expressed strong opposition to the draft London Plan's proposed housing targets. Councillors argued that the plan would lead to the development of 3,150 homes on greenfield land, representing a 50% increase in our housing target for the next decade
and making it the sixth largest increase in Greater London
. These wards collectively contain almost all of Harrow's Green Belt.
Councillor Marilyn Ashton, who moved the motion, stated that the draft plan, enabled by the Labour government's revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), would weaken Green Belt protections. She argued that the NPPF, specifically G-B7, sets out that development is not inappropriate in the Greenbelt
, which she believes is declaring open season on Harrow's Green Belt for developers
. Councillor Ashton criticised the plan as poorly written
and a poisonous cocktail of badly written policy
that could cause untold damage
to the Green Belt.
During the debate, Councillor Matthew Goodwin-Freeman described the draft London Plan as not worth the paper it is written on
and accused the Mayor of London of a land grab on the green belt.
Councillor Rhys Benjamin highlighted what he termed the Outer London Paradox,
arguing that the plan fails to recognise the distinct needs of outer London boroughs. He noted that the draft plan only makes one reference to the term Outer London in the entire document and that is purely to state that there should be no difference from inner and outer London regarding something called a metropolitan open land or in plain English greenbelt.
Councillor Benjamin also questioned the designation of some stations as well-connected
for Green Belt development, given the limited train services.
An amendment proposed by Councillor David Perry, Leader of the Labour Group, which sought to foster cross-party collaboration and invite the Mayor of London to visit Harrow, was ultimately lost. Councillor Perry's amendment also proposed that the Leader of the Council and the Leader of the Opposition jointly write to the Mayor of London.
Councillor Ashton clarified that her support for enabling development on the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital site was due to very special circumstances
. She stated that these circumstances are an acceptable exception within Green Belt policy and are distinct from the broader concerns about the draft London Plan.
The substantive motion opposing the draft London Plan was subsequently carried by the council. The full details of the council's agenda and reports can be found in the Public reports pack.