Brownfield land not the only solution to housing crisis

A new report has argued that the amount of brownfield land available will not be enough to meet the current housing need.

Brownfield: The housing crisis solved?, produced by the Gracechurch Group, argues that councils do not need to release greenfield land to meet housing need. The report finds that brownfield land has the potential for 200,000 homes, but not enough to meet the reported five-year demand for housing which is estimated to be approximately 275,000, nor the ten-year target of 550,000 homes.

The group also warned that the majority of brownfield sites are very small – suitable for 15 homes or less - and recommends that local people and interest groups should be encouraged to put forward sites for inclusion on the brownfield registers.

Neil Lawson-May, the Gracechurch Group, said: “The housing shortfall from brownfield is even greater than these numbers suggest. Brownfield is unevenly spread across the country and most brownfield is not in areas where there is high housing need. In the pilot, only two regions have sufficient brownfield capacity to accommodate their five-year housing requirement once planning attrition has been factored in. Brownfield land can make a significant impact on the housing crisis, but it cannot solve it. Hard evidence about brownfield site availability through the registers can help politicians and planning authorities explain to communities more effectively why greenfield development is necessary.”

The Gracechurch Group includes Palatium Investment Management, Dominic Lawson Bespoke Planning, Crocus Valley and Bonnar Allan.