A groundbreaking study [1] published today (Wednesday) by countryside campaigners, CPRE [2], demonstrates that an excess of greenfield land with planning permission can render brownfield development unviable.
Drawing on data on planning consents, housebuilding and construction costs, researchers [3] created a model of development viability. This was used to explore how the availability of greenfield land with planning permission affects the economics of brownfield development in nine local authority areas [4]. The research finds that brownfield viability is worst affected in areas which have significantly more greenfield than brownfield land supply.
Notes for Editors
Copies of CPRE’s report Brownfield Market Signals: Greenfield housing land supply and the viability of brownfield housing development and executive summary are available here:
> Brownfield Market Signals (474K PDF)
> Brownfield Market Signals: Executive Summary (26K PDF)
Brownfield viability is less affected by low levels of competing greenfield land supply. The research suggests, especially in North Tyneside and Corby, that high levels of housebuilding in one part of a local authority area sends market signals that make development less viable in other parts of the same authority area.
Kate Gordon, CPRE’s Senior Planner, said:
'These findings have wide significance. Councils are expected to find land to accommodate the national target of 3 million new homes by 2020. Areas that have relied in the past on brownfield sites to meet their housing needs, face pressure to allocate greenfield land for development. As a consequence, areas where brownfield development viability is not at present threatened by competing greenfield land supply, such as Southampton, [5] may find that this situation changes in future.’
Kate Gordon concluded:
‘We urge Councils contemplating large-scale greenfield land releases not to proceed unless they are satisfied these will not harm prospects for redevelopment and regeneration. Tremendous potential still exists to make better use of brownfield opportunities and reap the long term rewards in terms of urban renewal [6]. As this study shows, for this potential to be realised, great care needs to be taken over the scale, location and timing of greenfield land release.’
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NOTES FOR EDITORS
1. Copies of CPRE’s report Brownfield Market Signals: Greenfield housing land supply and the viability of brownfield housing development and executive summary are available here:
> Brownfield Market Signals (474K PDF)
> Brownfield Market Signals: Executive Summary (26K PDF)
2. CPRE, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, is a charity which promotes the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England. We advocate positive solutions for the long-term future of the countryside. Founded in 1926, we have 60,000 supporters and a branch in every county. President: Bill Bryson. Patron: Her Majesty The Queen. www.cpre.org.uk
3. CPRE commissioned David Adams and Chris Leishman from the Department of Urban Studies, University of Glasgow, to explore how the availability of greenfield land with planning permission affects the economics of brownfield development.
4. The researchers modelled data on planning consents for residential development between 2002 and 2008 in the following nine areas:
- Corby
- Eastleigh
- Leeds
- Leicester
- North Tyneside
- Southampton
- Suffolk Coastal
- Swindon
- Wigan
5. Only effects within a local authority were considered. There may well be cross-boundary effects. Our study did not look at the effect that land supply in one area may have on prospects for development in an adjacent local authority area, for example.
6. The National Land Use Database identifies 62,000 hectares of brownfield land of which 26,500 is suitable for housing, enough for more than a million new homes (building at a modest density of around 40 homes per hectare) (Previously-developed land that may be available for Development: England 2007, Communities and Local Government). According to the Empty Homes Agency England has around 800,000 empty homes. There are thousands of empty commercial properties which could be converted to provide homes.
