Brownfield Site Definition
The term Brownfield Site refers to land that is or was occupied by a permanent structure, which has become vacant, underused or derelict and has the potential for redevelopment.
Land that has not been developed in the past (e.g. parks, recreation grounds, allotments) is not classified as brownfield. Additionally there are cases where the remnants of a structure, such as a barn, become so well integrated into the land that they are no longer considered a separate structure and thus not classified brownfield.
Since brownfield sites have been used for a broad range of industrial process many have varying degrees of contamination. A thorough investigation will be necessary to ascertain the nature of the contamination and decide how best to deal with it. As you can imagine depending on the extent of contamination this could be a very expensive procedure and it is a factor that needs to be considered before any purchase of brownfield land is made.
The level of brownfield land in the UK is constantly changing as land is reclaimed and abandoned. Up until the 1980s the level of brownfield land had been increasing at a dramatic rate but later there was an enormous need for and lack of suitable development land and since then land reclamation initiatives have capped these levels.
In the document "Planning Policy Guidance Note 3: Housing” published in 2000, the Government pledged to build more houses on brownfield sites. In the process, new local authority compliance targets for brownfield land development were put into place which placed greater emphasis on building at higher densities, to better standards and in more sustainable locations
Common beneficial uses of reclaimed brownfield land include - the creation of open spaces for public use, woodlands and residential housing development.
Nick Maynard, Mercatus Land Consultants, April 2005
