The North West Green Belt is a green belt environmental and planning policy that regulates the rural space throughout mainly the North West region of England. It is contained within the counties of Cheshire, Derbyshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, and Merseyside. Essentially, the function of the belt is to prevent the cities, towns and villages in the large Greater Manchester and Merseyside conurbations from merging. It is managed by local planning authorities on guidance from central government.