Major boost in brownfield development

Citation

(2001), "Major boost in brownfield development", Property Management, Vol. 19 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/pm.2001.11319bab.015

Major boost in brownfield development

Major boost in brownfield development

Keywords: Development, Environmental impact

Government plans to modernise the planning system to allow businesses to get planning permission quicker could result in an increase in the development of UK brownfield sites.

The reform proposals were highlighted at the CBI annual conference this week by Trade Secretary Stephen Byers.

The announcement comes hot-on-the-heels of a recent survey into land use in the UK by law firm Addleshaw Booth & Co and the environmental organisation Urban Mines, which revealed there is substantially more land available for re-development in the UK than previously thought.

Amanda Beresford, of Addleshaw Booth & Co., says:

The modernisation of the planning system, coupled with the amount of brownfield sites available for re-development in the UK and improvements in remediation technology could give the country a major economic boost.

Supported by technology, businesses today can locate themselves anywhere in the world, but Britain's existing regulatory regime may inhibit those wanting to invest in the UK. Bureaucratic delays can hamper many development and regeneration projects.

The survey has shown that brownfield land is available to meet developer's needs and that local authorities can regenerate their areas and limit unwanted pressure on green belt or sensitive areas.

The National Brownfield Sites Project involved teams of researchers carrying out detailed and comprehensive surveys of land use in eight towns and cities in England and Wales, carefully selected as a representative cross-section of communities around the country. Researchers deliberately targeted mixed-use areas rather than derelict ones and all land use in the designated areas was surveyed to produce a complete picture.

Local councils have traditionally assisted potential investors by identifying suitable redevelopment land but a shortage of resources often means they are unable to undertake the labour-intensive, detailed research carried out by the project team.

Although in some areas of the country, particularly the south-east where pressure for development is at its most intense, it is generally assumed that most available sites are known about, the survey still indicates there may be significantly more than previously thought. In Hounslow, for instance, researchers identified that there was 6 per cent brownfield land for potential development in the target area surveyed compared with the previously recognised figure of 0.6 per cent for the whole Hounslow area.

Detailed results of the two-year project will be published later this year and the findings explained at seminars to be held in Yorkshire and London.