Brownfield land introduction
Brownfield land development is a hot topic. Though house prices now look to be stabilising, the issue of what to build and where to situate new housing development rages on. The Government's aim is to see at least 60% of all new development land being brownfield sites i.e. previously developed land, however, there are issues involved with brownfield site use and release...
Brownfield Land for Sustainable Communities
Recent headlines highlighted the East of England Regional Assembly's commitment to begin development on 500,000 new homes in the east of England over the next 20 years.
At the heart of the new legislation is John Prescott's Sustainable Communities Plan, which rests on the premise that every person is entitled to a decent home and place to live. The new legislation is designed to speed up the planning and development process and effectively get more houses built. But more housing requires more land and in an ideal world, the ideal development land would be a brownfield site.
Brownfield Land / Brownfield Site - a definition
Brownfield land / Brownfield site - essentially previously developed land, either commercial or residential. The Government's aim is to see at least 60 percent of all new development on brownfield sites and this has been clearly laid out in PPG3 on housing.
Figures for brownfield land varies considerably from one local council to another. Durham Council, for example, comes in well above the national average with 76% of all development occurring on brownfield land, while Basingstoke Council falls 20% below the national average for brownfield site development at 44%.
Unsurprisingly, there are issues involved with brownfield land for sale and release.
The Brownfield Site Conundrum
English Partnerships is a government formed agency that 'land banks' surplus public sector land and drives it forward for redevelopment. Approximately a third of the brownfield land, about 66,000ha, identified on EP's database could be readily available for development.
The problem is that much brownfield land for sale has an almost 'negative' value, often due to land contamination, and would require public investment to render them suitable for any development. This effectively means that the market cannot support contaminated development land as the public will not pocket the cost of funding.
Bringing brownfield land for sale back necessitates committed planning and partnerships between the public and private sector. Such a commitment is already outlined in the Government's PPG3 supplement that requires planning authorities to work with local Housing Departments and Developers to provide affordable housing.
Nick Maynard, Mercatus Land Consultants, January 2004
