Chancellor announces that councils will build on 90% of brownfield sites

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“The measures announced last night have great potential, and will certainly be a boon to developers,” declares Liz Peace, Chief Executive of BPF.

The chancellor in his annual Mansion House speech the Chancellor announced that councils will be required to put local development orders on over 90% of brownfield sites that are suitable for housing. It is estimated that these reforms could result in planning permission for 200,000 new homes. This announcement follows Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s pledge earlier in the week to decontaminate brownfield sites in the capital if house builders and devlopers commit to building 10,000 homes.

Chris Carr who is Chair of the FMB Home Builders Group, commented : “The Chancellor’s announcement will reduce the risks involved and provide house builders with the certainty they need to invest in these sites. Where this is backed with funding to help make difficult brownfield sites viable for development then talk of an urban planning revolution may not be so far-fetched.”

The House Builders Association (HBA), a division of the NFB, argues that the focus on funding for brownfield remediation across the country will support the viability of previously hard to develop sites. Crucially, the initiatives will help ease the pressure to develop highly valued green-field land, preventing unnecessary environmental damage.

“It is my hope that this will help unlock sites for small and medium-sized house builders,” commented James Hulme, strategic policy adviser for the HBA. The HBA is now encouraging its members to seek out opportunities for developing local brownfield sites and hopes that further details would include safeguards that allow the participation of smaller developers alongside major firms.

More good news for the release of land to stop silly house pricing and make affordable new homes.