Brownfield housing future for UK?
It only seems a few years ago since the idea of brownfield housing was held up as the solution to a shortage of new homes in the UK, particularly in the south of England.
Former factories and other industrial brownfield sites would be swept aside in a flurry of "recycling activity", with local authorities speeding planning applications through while prized greenbelt land was left unspoiled.
However it has not quite worked out like that in practice.
"Turn brownfield housing sites into living, breathing communities where people are proud to belong" - John Prescott M.P.
As the recent review of housing carried out for the Treasury by the Bank of England's Kate Barker points out, an extra 39,000 new homes need to be built each year just to keep up with the UK's population growth.
Demand is especially acute in the South East, where 40,000 new homes could be built on brownfield land but where it is claimed the development is not taking place.
Professor Tim Dixon says the private sector is now under the spotlight.
"Now the situation has swung round, and the private sector is perceived as being slow to develop brownfield housing," he told the BBC.
The government's sustainable communities plan means it wants to see at least 60% of new dwelling being brownfield housing, providing much-needed new homes while reducing pressure on the greenbelt.
Pierre Williams of the House Builders Federation says: "Building more brownfield housing and less greenfield housing is a laudable aim, but there are planning and cost implications - it is the planning system that has restricted brownfield housing construction.
"There is a national need for brownfield housing, but that is not being addressed because it is being delayed by local planning authorities.
"There is a very strong pressure at local level for local planning departments to reduce the number of housing development permissions they allow, including proposals for brownfield housing sites."
Jude Shepherd, brownfield housing research officer at project Sustainable Urban Brownfield Regeneration: Integrated Management (SUBRIM), says there are planning issues surrounding brownfield housing development:
"Community opposition is quite an issue when it comes to developing brownfield housing sites - you would not think there would be a Nimby (not-in-my-back-yard) effect, as there is with greenfield housing proposals, but it is an issue.
Mr Williams says brownfield housing development is very expensive, particularly for major projects like the proposed Thames Gateway.
It is a major brownfield housing plan for London and the South East, annexing 40 miles of the Thames riverbank and stretching into Kent, Essex and Bedfordshire.
The £2 billion programme will lead to more than 200,000 new homes, with ministers saying that 80% will be brownfield housing.
"We want to build housing on brownfield sites like Thames Gateway, we want to create sustainable communities, which do not harm the greenbelt," says Mr Williams.
"New developments have to be connective to their surroundings, and to create sustainable communities there have to be jobs, roads, schools, and other facilities for the families living there, which the government has to recognise and support."
Jude Shepherd is also studying the Thames Gateway proposal: "A key issue is whether there is an infrastructure to support a community - developers are taking a risk building on many brownfield sites, a lot are set in locations where other development is needed."
Critics have hinted that developers are sitting on excessive amounts of brownfield development land to push up house prices, but Mr Williams says: "In total, developers are sitting on a-year-and-a-half supply, not much at all.
"It can take up to 10 years sometimes to get a major brownfield housing development through the planning process."
According to Professor Baker arguments about whether there is enough brownfield housing land available for development is not the central issue.
"Yes, it is being used up, but it is like a running tap, some sites are running away as they are being developed upon, but others are still coming on stream for brownfield housing development."
Source: BBC News, 11.12.2003
