National Brownfield Strategy

 

Recommendations for a National Brownfield Strategy for England were submitted to the Government in May 2007.  These contain six over-arching principles, to be adopted whenever decisions are made regarding the redevelopment, or reuse of brownfield land. 
 

The six principles are:

• When considering the allocation of land for future uses, the principle of ‘redevelop or reuse first’ shall be used alongside the Planning Policy Statement 25: Development and flood risk (PPS25) sequential test.
  
  The site’s potential biodiversity value in accordance with Planning Policy Statement 9: Biodiversity and Geological Conservation (PPS9 ) and the accompanying publication Planning for Diversity and Geological Conservation: a  Guide to Good Practice should also be considered.
• Delivery agencies should focus primarily on ensuring the reuse of urban land in towns and cities that have the infrastructure capacity and suitability to support redevelopment. 
• Full regard must always be taken of the environmental impact of undertaking remediation work, in compliance with legislative requirements.    
• In situations where the cost of full remediation renders redevelopment of the site unsustainable, sufficient work should be carried out to safeguard the local environment and to remove visual blight. 
• The highest design standards should be applied to all brownfield development, compatible with the economic limitations of the individual site. 
• Decisions regarding the future use of brownfield land shall be made in consultation with local communities.

Policy implementation strands

The draft strategy sets out nine policy proposals in the following four strands:

Strand One	Identifying, assessing and preparing brownfield land for reuse, to ensure an adequate supply of land when it is needed (policy recommendations A, H and I)
Strand Two	Safeguarding the environment and ensuring appropriate levels of regulatory control, to ensure the effective and efficient reuse of land (policy recommendations B and C)
Strand Three	Enhancing communities through the removal of blight and by ensuring the long-term maintenance of restored land, contributing to sustainability (policy recommendations D and E)
Strand Four	Accreditation and skills, by meeting the need for appropriately qualified and experienced practitioners, with the public, private and voluntary sectors working together to disseminate best practice (policy recommendations F and G)

 

The full recommendations can be downloaded from the Publications page.

The Government's detailed response to English Partnerships' recommendations for a National Brownfield Strategy can be downloaded from the Communities and Local Government website.

Delivery of the brownfield strategy

English Partnerships has supported the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) with the preparation of pilot action plans aimed at speeding up brownfield delivery.

The agency is also supporting local authorities with the preparation of Local Brownfield Strategies, to be used as the technical evidence base for their Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessments.

 

Regional Action Plans

The pilot Regional Brownfield Action Plans have explored methods of making better use of previously developed land (PDL) to deliver regional economic and housing strategies.

The plans have revealed new development opportunities and identify ways to tackle the blight caused by long-term dereliction.

Pilot sub-regional action plans have been prepared for the following:

• North West - East Lancashire and part of Greater Manchester
• Growth areas in the East of England
• The Potteries area in the West Midlands
• Local authorities north of the River Tyne in the North East
• Several local authorities in the East Midlands
• Market towns in Yorkshire and the Humber.

 

Local Brownfield Strategies

The National Brownfield Team is supporting local authorities with the greatest concentrations of brownfield land relative to deprivation.  This approach has been adopted because more than 20 per cent of brownfield land in England is situated in the nine per cent most deprived areas of the country – the 3,000 most deprived Super Output Areas in the 2004 Index of Deprivation. 

It is evident that many of the local authorities in which these most deprived SOAs are situated also have concentrations of brownfield land in other, less deprived, areas within their boundaries.

A series of regional workshops have been held with the local authorities, providing an opportunity for them to discuss their respective problems.  These are being followed by inception meetings with small groups of authorities to identify their support requirements through to March 2009.

 

Pilot projects

In  2005 English Partnerships and the Office of Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) launched the setting up of 14 pilot brownfield projects as part of creating the National Brownfield Strategy (see Pilot programme will tackle England’s brownfield legacy, 22 February 2005).

Long-term and medium-term derelict sites were identified in each area and practical studies undertaken to assess the barriers to employment or housing development or to returning the land to recreational or natural use. These included involving local communities in deciding on the future uses for brownfield sites.

In November 2007, one of the pilot projects, the Pool Heartlands Project in Kerrier, Cornwall, was awarded £22 million funding from the Big Lottery ‘Living Landmarks’ fund.

Research into brownfield land

Brownfield Strategy Interim Report

English Partnerships’ report Towards a National Brownfield Strategy (published in September 2003) was the most comprehensive study ever undertaken to assess the state of England’s brownfield land supply.

Downloaded Towards a National Brownfield Strategy -PDF (253 KB)

  

	Brownfield research summary: The economic impact of recycling brownfield land Download this research from the Publications page.
	Brownfield research summary: One Permit or Two? Download this research from the Publications page.
	The Contamination and Dereliction Remediation Costs (Best Practice Note 27) Download this document from the Publications page.

 

Current Brownfield Research Projects include a study of ‘In use’ or latent brownfield land in the South East and the Thames Gateway (outside London) and, jointly with the London Development Agency, A review of Brownfield Sites in all 33 London authorities.