Listening to the current debate about national planning policy and house-building, I’m constantly irritated by two specific terms: 1. The oft repeated reference to Green Belt: This is a legal classification of very limited areas of undeveloped land around bigger towns and cities, designed to prevent urban sprawl by restricting building on it. What most people refer to are actually green field sites i.e. previously undeveloped areas, mostly farmland. The only restrictions on development of green field sites are around suitability i.e access, flood risk, areas with specific classifications for environmental protection etc.