New tools have been given to councils to hasten the development of new homes on derelict and underused land.
In a recent announcement, Housing and Planning Minister Gavin Barwell stated that local authorities will be required to maintain and deliver up-to-date registers of locally available brownfield sites suitable for housing. He also stated that these should be made accessible to the public.
According to a government statement, the aim of the registers is to assist housebuilders in finding suitable brownfield sites, enabling them to access land fit for “thousands of new homes”.
2016 was when brownfield registers were first piloted, with the measures being tested in 73 local planning authorities nationwide.
As well as this, an additional £1.2 billion to unlock “at least 30,000 Starter Homes” on brownfield land will be provided by the £3 billion Home Builders Fund.
Gavin Barwell stated: “We need to build more homes in this country so making sure that we re-use brownfield land is crucial. We want to bring life back to abandoned sites, create thousands more homes and help protect our valued countryside.
“These new registers will give local authorities and developers the tools to do this.”
