UK Housing Shortage- Consultation to unlock brownfield sites
Following its initial announcement in June of 2014, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has now launched a consultation in relation to the development of brownfield sites in England and Wales. The central aim is to unlock brownfield land for use as housing by streamlining the procedures and timescales for obtaining planning permission.
Broadly speaking, brownfield land consists of unused and previously developed land. The intention is that thousands of new homes will be built on such sites with the joint aims of addressing the demand for new housing and stimulating economic growth in the construction sector and more widely in the UK economy.
To address concerns, the DCLG has committed to maintaining the existing safeguards restricting development of green spaces, rural and agricultural land. Additionally, councils will need to take account of the views of the local community and the housing needs within their area.
Local authorities will be at the forefront of this initiative by introducing and implementing local development orders which can provide sites with outline planning permission to speed up the building of new homes.
Looking at the proposed numbers involved, the DCLG intends to enable up to 200,000 permissions for new homes by 2020. In addition, £400 million funding from the government will be available for the development of brownfield sites in the London area with an additional £200 million available for 10 zones outside of London.
Ortolan Legal have recently acted for a landowner in relation to the sale of a brownfield site to a housing developer, also requiring the cooperation and involvement of the City Council in their capacity as both local planning authority and freehold landowner. For further information relating to brownfield sites please get in touch with Emily Clarke.
Posted on 02/03/2015 by Ortolan
