It was a Government requirement that by 31st December 2017 every local authority in England prepared and published a register of brownfield land appropriate for housing. This requirement aligned with the Government’s call for ‘brownfield first’.
It was a Government requirement that by 31st December 2017 every local authority in England prepared and published a register of brownfield land appropriate for housing. This requirement aligned with the Government’s call for ‘brownfield first’.
In October 2016, the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) identified the need for 227,000 homes to be built across Greater Manchester by 2035. In total, ten authorities comprise the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).
Planning consultancy Barton Willmore produced a review of the Brownfield Land Register stating that the brownfield sites appropriate for redevelopment for housing in Greater Manchester only account for 44% of the regions housing requirement. In total, 1,246 previously developed sites have been identified to have the capacity to deliver 100,103 new homes. This means there is opportunity for both the public and private sector to meet the requirement for the shortfall of 70,000+ homes.
Greg Dickson, Planning Director of Barton Willmore’s Manchester office said, “It’s promising to see most authorities in the North West have completed their Brownfield Land Registers, helping us to take a collective leap forward in identifying how we will address our housing needs. Looking at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, while a large number of sites have been identified it is clearly not enough to meet the identified housing need for the City region. What the brownfield land registers do is help us to establish the extent of the shortfall so we can carefully consider through a plan-led system, how and where additional housing should be delivered.”
Conducting remediation on brownfield sites is one of the services provided by VHE; this includes soil washing, soil stabilisation, and groundwater treatment. Before redeveloping a brownfield site it is always worth testing the soil as there can be highly flammable or infectious chemicals in the ground that can affect agriculture, wildlife and residents.
For professional advice on any land redevelopment projects, or for general enquiries about our remediation services, get in touch via our enquiry form or call us on 01226 320150.
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