Brownfield Passport to Planning and Development
Committed to getting Britain building again, the UK Government targets brownfield sites to access growth opportunities…
The government is focusing on urban sites with a proposed ‘Brownfield Passport’, in a bid to speed up development on previously developed urban land. This could mean revitalising derelict or underused sites, advancing overlooked small plots, and optimising existing land and buildings to strengthen local centres. This approach not only makes better use of available spaces but also improves accessibility and connectivity within the community.
Planning Reform Working Paper
In a working paper, entitled Brownfield Passport: Making the Most of Urban Land, it calls for views on the passport, which would expedite the planning process on brownfield sites, in a bid to accelerate building in urban areas and deliver homes where they are needed. The proposal forms part of the government’s bid to provide a further 1.5 million homes during this Parliament.
This paper is just one of a series of working papers on different aspects of planning reform, designed to inform further policy development in collaboration with the wider sector.
In the Brownfield working paper, the government points out: ‘’Around 85% of England’s population now live in urban areas, and while there was a brief decline in urban population growth during the pandemic, it has since bounced back strongly.’’ It adds that it: ‘’wants to see cities and towns flourish’’ and that to do so it needs affordable homes to support growth. It emphasises that its first point of call for development is brownfield sites, ahead of grey belt and green belt areas, which we discussed in last month’s blog.
Brownfield Site Development
The aim – as noted in the National Planning Policy Framework consultation – is to ensure that where any development proposals on these brownfield sites adhere to quality and design standards, the default answer to a planning application would be yes.
The government wants to bring unproductive sites into use, identify where previously developed land could be redeveloped and ensure that such development supports: ‘’healthy, resilient communities’’.
The government has called for evidence on criteria that will increase the likelihood of brownfield site development being approved – in a bid to reduce the costs and risks of applying for such developments and encouraging applications to be made.
It adds that while local authority approval would still be necessary, the policy changes suggested: ‘’would carry significant weight in decision making and would create a clear expectation that compliant schemes be approved’’.
Next Steps
The government is keen to gather views on the proposals and options suggested in the paper, and is specifically requesting feedback on 10 key questions, before deciding whether and how they should be worked up in more detail.
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