THURROCK Council is to get greater powers to stop developers building homes on gardens, the government says.
Communities minister Greg Clark is to pledge to reclassify gardens, currently in the “brownfield” planning category used for ex-factory and railway land.
He will say it is “ridiculous” vital green space is being lost to so-called garden-grabbing.
In January, the Labour government promised to draw up plans to deal with garden-grabbing “hotspots”.
There is increasing concern among campaigners about homes being built on land attached to existing urban or suburban houses, which increases population density.
Campaigners say this damages the character of an area.
Mr Clark is expected to argue that taking gardens out of the brownfield category will “transform” councils’ ability to reject unwanted development where local people object.
He will say later: “For years the wishes of local people have been ignored as the character of neighbourhoods and gardens has been destroyed, robbing communities of vital green space.
“It is ridiculous that gardens have until now been classified in the same group as derelict factories and disused railway sidings, forcing councils and communities to sit by and watch their neighbourhoods get swallowed up in a concrete jungle.
Gardens, like parks, are the green lungs of cities, improving air quality, controlling air temperature and flood risk, and providing a haven for wildlife
Recent government figures suggest the proportion of houses built on previously residential land, such as gardens, increased from one in 10 in 1997 to one in four in 2008.
Dr Simon Thornton Wood, director of science and learning at the Royal Horticultural Society, said: “Gardens, like parks, are the green lungs of cities, improving air quality, controlling air temperature and flood risk, and providing a haven for wildlife.
“Beyond these very practical benefits of gardens we know that gardening is great for physical and mental health.
“That’s why we would like planning measures to go further than protecting existing gardens, to guarantee high-quality green space and gardening opportunities in all new building developments, wherever they are.”
In January, the Department for Communities and Local Government said the definition of brownfield land had not changed since the 1980s, but that developers’ targets had altered.
