New Brownfield Registers Requirement
The Government has just announced that all Local Authorities will have to produce, maintain and publish a Brownfield Register. This will be a list of all brownfield sites in their area that will be suitable for housing. Sites that qualify will be designated with a ‘permission in principle’ status. This will establish the principle for housing led development, the area and the amount of development acceptable on the site. It will be followed by a Technical Details Consent covering technical issues such as matters of design, access, layout, and landscaping.
It is considered that the new Technical Details Consent process will involve an application that requires a design statement and an impact assessment (the latter to include further assessments such as contamination and risk assessment plus mitigation, remediation and drainage schemes.)
The Government has yet to publish further guidance for Local Authorities to produce these registers. Last year a pilot scheme was run with 73 Local Authorities who each tested out a pilot register. James Wilson Associates compiled the register for Central Bedfordshire Council. It is likely that the registers will take some time to develop and it would therefore be in the interests of those landowners who consider they own a brownfield site to bring them to the attention of their Local Authority and request they are assessed for inclusion on the register. The definition and eligibility of sites to be included on the Brownfield Register will depend on a variety of factors.
Contact James Wilson Associates for further advice on whether sites are likely to meet the criteria and obtain this new planning status of ‘Permission in Principle’.
Contact James on 01604 812115 or 07832 753197
Email james@jameswilsonassociates.co.uk
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