The Tyne and Wear Green Belt forms a wide band of protected land around Gateshead and Newcastle. The Green Belt as shown on the Policies Maps will be protected in accordance with national policy to:

1. Prevent the merging of settlements, particularly: Gateshead with Hebburn, Washington, Birtley or Whickham; Newcastle with Ponteland, or Cramlington; the main built-up area with nearby villages;and villages with each other,

2. Safeguard the countryside from encroachment,

3. Check unrestricted urban sprawl, and

4. Assist in urban regeneration in the city-region by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land.