Progress on reuse of brownfield land but Green Belt loss continues

28 May 2009

Land use change figures published by the Government today (Thursday) show that 78% of homes were built on brownfield last year. CPRE welcomed the continuing progress in making better use of existing developed sites but were alarmed at continuing building within the Green Belt and in areas of high flood risk, despite Government commitments.

Neil Sinden, CPRE’s Policy and Campaigns Director, said:

'The brownfield figures are good news for the countryside as well as for urban areas that have benefited from regeneration. The figures also show that land is being used more efficiently than in the past, although greenfield land continues to be developed at unsustainably low densities.’

But we should not be complacent. Across the country, regeneration schemes are stalling, while greenfields continue to be allocated for development on a large scale. This increases the risk of developers 'cherry-picking’ greenfield over brownfield sites when the market recovers since they tend to be easier and more profitable to develop in the short term. ’

Neil Sinden concluded:

'In developing strategies to tackle the current challenges facing housing supply, we need to recognise the huge benefits secured over the last decade from successful brownfield regeneration. Green Belt protection clearly needs to be tightened if this progress is to be sustained. It would be folly to make it easier to develop greenfield sites in a desperate attempt to kick-start the housing market.’

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