THE NATIONAL BROWNFIELD STRATEGY

							THE NATIONAL BROWNFIELD STRATEGY
The genesis

The National Brownfield Strategy has been framed to address the re-use of brownfield
land in the widest sense, including for all types of built development as well as for various
„green‟ end uses, such as parks. Its scope was confirmed in the Communities Plan,
formally the „Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future‟, published in 2003:

        “English Partnerships are developing a comprehensive national strategy for
        brownfield land. This will start from a detailed understanding of what brownfield
        land is available, making full use of the National Land Use Database (NLUD),
        which identifies 66,000 hectares of previously used land capable of
        redevelopment. A quarter of this has lain dormant or derelict for 10 or more
        years. The strategy will cover how best to bring sites back into use, especially in
        the growth areas.” (para 4.5)

The Communities Plan set out a long-term programme of action for delivering sustainable
communities in both urban and rural areas, aiming to tackle housing supply issues in the
South East, low demand in other parts of the country, and the quality of public spaces –
and placed particular emphasis on the re-use of brownfield land. However, brownfield
land as a policy issue predates the Communities Plan.

As early as February 1998, the Government announced a national target whereby at least
60 per cent of all new homes in England were by 2008 to be built on „previously
developed land‟ (PDL) – formally defined in PPG3 and more latterly refined in 2006 in
Annex B of PPS3: Housing.

In parallel with PPS3, the Urban Task Force (UTF) was working towards its final report
„Towards an Urban Renaissance‟, published in June 1999, which set out how to provide
desirable towns and cities to accommodate the then anticipated additional four million
households in England over the coming 25 years. This figure has been changed
progressively. In July 2008 the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, announced as part of the
Housing Green Paper a target of some 3 million new dwellings to be built by 2020 and an
annual house-building target for 2016 will be raised from 200,000 new homes to
240,000; Brown reinforced the key role that brownfield land has to play in meeting this
target in a sustainable manner.

EP undertook wide-ranging research and consultation into the causes and characteristics
of brownfield land across England, in order to inform the nature of a National Brownfield
Strategy and the range of actions that might be adopted within it to improve the manner
in which brownfield land is brought back to productive uses.

Key data sources used included the results of the National Land Use Database (NLUD) -
that had been established to measure the extent of brownfield land across the country -
and the data held on the Land Use Change Statistics - derived from the Ordnance
Survey‟s map making activities but which measure how various land uses change.

The first major output of this research was a briefing for the Deputy Prime Minister,
entitled “Towards a National Brownfield Strategy”, published by EP in 2003 to inform and
further the debate into how best to make better use of brownfield land. Other research
findings, into topics such as the economic impact of recycling brownfield land and the
opportunities to improve permitting arrangements for land reclamation, were also
subsequently published

Again to inform the range of opportunities for action, English Partnerships and the Office
of Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) launched in 2005 some of 14 pilot brownfield projects.
These projects involved identifying long-term and medium-term derelict sites for which
practical studies were undertaken to assess the barriers to employment or housing
development or to returning the land to recreational or natural use, including one within
the West Midlands in collaboration with Dudley MBC.

EP also supported various Regional Development Agencies with pilot „Brownfield Action
Plans‟ (BLAPs) – discussed further, below.

The results of the various studies and projects undertaken to inform the development of
the National Brownfield Strategy were, in October 2006, brought together in a „The
Brownfield Guide: „A Practitioner‟s Guide to Land Re-use in England‟. Copies can be
obtained online, or in hard copy form by application to EP.

Thereafter, in May 2007, English Partnerships submitted formal recommendations to
Government to form the basis of future national brownfield land policy, supported by key
analyses of the data and issues relevant to brownfield land across the country and
pointing up variations between the several regions.

EP‟s recommendations reflected six overarching „principles‟:
    - the „reuse brownfield land first‟ principle should only be applied alongside the
        flood risk sequential test in PPS25 and consideration of the site‟s potential
        biodiversity value in accordance with PPS9;
    - the primary focus should be on the reuse of urban brownfield land in towns and
        cities that have the infrastructure capacity and suitability to support
        redevelopment;
    - the environmental impact of undertaking remediation work must be taken into
        account;
    - if the cost of full remediation renders redevelopment of a site unsustainable,
        safeguarding the local environment and removing visual blight should be
        pursued;
    - the highest design standards should be applied to all brownfield development,
        compatible with the economic limitations of the individual site; and
    - decisions regarding the future use of brownfield land should be made in
        consultation with local communities.

The nine specific recommendations were grouped into four strands

   -   Strand One: Identifying, assessing and preparing brownfield land for reuse to
       ensure an adequate supply of land when it is needed (Policy recommendations A,
       H and I)
   -   Strand Two: Safeguarding the environment and ensuring appropriate levels of
       regulatory control to ensure the effective and efficient reuse of land (policy
       recommendations B and C)
   -   Strand Three: Enhancing communities through the removal of blight and by
       ensuring the long-term maintenance of restored land, thereby contributing to
       sustainability (policy recommendations D and E)
   -   Strand Four: Accreditation and skills by meeting the need for appropriately
       qualified and experienced practitioners, with the public, private and voluntary
       sectors working together to disseminate best practice (policy recommendations F
       and G)

The West Midlands Brownfield Land Working Group gave consideration to these
recommendations and formally submitted observations to EP and through them to
Government, urging support for the recommendations but also pointing up certain West
Midland-specific observations.
The Government‟s response to EP‟s recommendations was published on 4 March 2008
and broadly accepts the recommendations made. In the Foreword, Caroline Flint the
Minister for Communities and Local Government wholeheartedly supported EP‟s
recommendations and reiterated the relevance of better use of brownfield land to the
attainment of sustainable development, by saying among other points:

       “The re-use of brownfield land lies at the heart of a wide range of Government
       policies and English Partnerships’ work in developing a National Brownfield
       Strategy is an important step towards achieving our ambitious targets for housing
       growth and underpins our policy for the revival of our towns and cities and for
       achieving more sustainable patterns of development.

       “… the new Homes and Communities Agency … will put brownfield land at the
       heart of its work …

       “This is not just a strategy for Government; it is a strategy for everyone. We all
       have a part to play: English Partnerships, the Regional Development Agencies,
       the Environment Agency, Local Authorities, voluntary sector organisations, non-
       government organisations and the private sector must all play their part for the
       Strategy to be delivered.”

Strand Four of EP‟s recommendations has already been further developed in a joint
initiative between the Academy for Sustainable Communities (ASC) and EP to develop a
national Brownfield Skills Strategy (BSS).

A Scoping Study Consultation was issued by EP and the ASC in October 2008 (to which
the West Midlands Brownfield Land Working Group responded formally) and a draft BSS
was published alongside the Government‟s response to EP‟s Brownfield Strategy
Recommendations in March 2008. Consultation responses are welcomed by the ASC
and EP prior to 27 May 2008, after which a BSS is to be prepared and implemented.

The West Midlands Brownfield Land Working Group is preparing to submit its comments.