Summary
Green Wedges are an urban containment mechanism intended to restrict the spread of built development beyond designated settlement boundaries and allocated sites. Their designation, although non-statutory, adds an additional layer of protection to those areas where it is considered that development pressure exists or will exist during the lifetime of a development plan.
The Draft Vale of Glamorgan Unitary Development Plan 1996 - 2011 proposed four green wedges within the Vale of Glamorgan to restrict the spread of built development beyond designated settlement boundaries and allocated sites.
National guidance relating to the designation of green wedges is contained within Planning Policy Wales (5 th Edition November 2012) (PPW) which identifies that green wedges can:
• Provide opportunities for access to the open countryside;
• Provide opportunities for outdoor sports and recreation;
• Maintain landscape / wildlife interest;
• Retain land for agricultural, forestry and related purposes;
• Improve derelict land; and
• Provide carbon sinks and help to mitigate the effects of urban heat islands.
PPW states that local designations such as green wedges may be justified where land is required:
• To prevent the coalescence of large towns and cities with other settlements;
• To manage urban form through controlled expansion of urban areas;
• To assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment;
• To protect the setting of an urban area; and
• To assist in urban regeneration by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land.
  The Council has again considered the designation of a green belt within the Vale of Glamorgan as recommended by the Planning Inspector in his report on the objections received to the Draft Vale of Glamorgan Unitary Development Plan (November 2000) and its commitment to review such a designation as a part of the 1 st review of the Plan. Having considered the matter further, the Council maintains its original position that
prior to the designation of a Green Belt within the Vale of Glamorgan it will be necessary for a sub-regional study to be conducted, to identify development needs and ways of managing change over the next 30 years within the region.
In the absence of, and until such a study has been conducted it is the view of the Vale of Glamorgan Council that the designation of a green belt within the Vale of Glamorgan would be premature and could have a serious detrimental effect upon both the growth dynamics of the region and regional sustainability.
Accordingly, each of the existing green wedges and any proposals for new green wedges are assessed against the following objectives.
• To prevent urban coalescence between and within settlements;
• To ensure that development does not prejudice the open nature of the land;
• To protect undeveloped land from speculative development and
• To maintain the setting of built up areas
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