The purpose of the register
The Brownfield Land Register Regulations came into force on April 2017 requiring local planning authorities to prepare and maintain a register listing previously developed land that may be suitable for future residential development. The brownfield register is there to encourage developers to invest in brownfield land through a quicker process. The register is split into two parts:
- Part 1 will be a comprehensive list of sites which are considered to meet the legislative criteria of being ‘suitable, available and achievable’ for residential development, regardless of their planning status.
- Part 2 consists of all the sites from part 1 which have been granted ‘permission in principle’ (PIP).
‘Permission in principle’
This is a new approach to getting planning permission which will approve the fundamental principles – use, location, and scale of a development. When a site has been granted ‘permission in principle’, there is still a requirement to obtain a ‘technical details’ consent before proceeding with building work.
‘If the site is entered in part 2 of the Brownfield Register it will be granted permission in principle, which establishes the suitability in principle of land for housing-led development.’
No sites have been identified to be granted permission in principle.
How brownfield sites are identified
The ‘Brownfield Land Register Regulation 2017’ set out some criteria to identify sites to include on the register. The criteria are:
- The site meets the definition of previously developed land as defined in the National Planning Policy Framework
- The site has an area of at least 0.25 hectares or is capable of supporting at least 5 dwellings
- The site is suitable for residential development
- The site is available for residential development
- The site should be achievable in fifteen years
The full criteria can be found in the Brownfield Land Regulations 2017
The register
The Brownfield Register will be reviewed at least once a year to include any new sites or amend previously identified sites.