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Brownfield recommendations adopted

Posted: 06/03/2008

The government has responded to English Partnerships’ recommendations on policies to coordinate the redevelopment of brownfield land. Formal adoption of the recommendations, announced by Under Secretary of State Iain Wright MP, paves the way for implementation of the first ever National Brownfield Strategy for England.

Designed to re-use over 52,000 hectares of previously developed, vacant or derelict land the strategy supports government ambitions to build 3 million new homes by 2020. At least 60% of the homes will be on brownfield sites, protecting greenfield land and contributing to general wellbeing by tackling derelict, blighted land within existing communities.

Mr Wright MP said: “Since 1997, the amount of new development on brownfield land has risen significantly from 60 per cent to 75 per cent - a real achievement. But we want to go further and regenerate the most challenging sites".

Professor Paul Syms, English Partnerships National Brownfield Advisor welcomed the government’s response saying: “We are extremely pleased with the government’s adoption of our recommendations, which supports our belief that literally thousands of ugly and derelict sites, which disproportionately blight entire communities, could and should be completely turned around. There is a real opportunity for landowners, particularly in the public sector, to bring forward more sites for regeneration.”

The National Brownfield Strategy recognises that many brownfield sites are difficult to deal with, and that not all are suitable for housing or commercial development, using a “develop or reuse first” principle to ensure that land nonetheless has a designated use beneficial to the community. A total of nine policy strands will be implemented across four parallel strands between now and 2013:

The strands briefly summarised, will be:-

Strand One – Policies to identify, assess and prepare brownfield land for re-use to ensure an adequate supply of land when it is needed

Strand Two – Policies to safeguard the environment by ensuring the effective and efficient re-use of land

Strand Three – Policies to enhance communities and contribute to sustainability by removing blight and ensuring the long-term management of restored land

Strand Four – Policies to address a shortage of skills in dealing with brownfield land by meeting the need for appropriately qualified and experienced practitioners.

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