The Town and Country Planning (Brownfield Land Register) Regulations 2017 place a responsibility on the Council to prepare and maintain a register of brownfield sites.
The purpose of the register is to provide house builders with up-to-date information on sites that are available for housing. The aim is therefore to speed up the construction process as house builders will be able to identify suitable sites quickly and easily. This should maximise the number of homes being built on previously developed land and reduce the pressure to develop greenfield sites.
- Part one of the register will be for sites assessed as previously developed land which are ‘suitable’, ‘available’ and ‘achievable’ for residential development of 5 or more dwellings.
- Part two of the register includes sites to be granted permission in principle (PiP) for housing-led development. PiP will establish the fundamental principles of development in terms of the use, location and amount of development. However, planning permission is not granted until Technical Details Consent is applied for and approved by the Council. At present Portsmouth City Council is not allocating any sites for permission in principle, so all sites are on part one of the register only.
The register has been informed by the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) (2017) which has been prepared as part of the evidence base for the emerging Portsmouth Local Plan. Each site has then been assessed against the criteria set out in the Brownfield Land Register regulations:
- 0.25 hectares or more in size or capable of accommodating at least 5 dwellings
- Suitable – The site is free from constraints that cannot be mitigated against and is policy compliant
- Available – The relevant landowner has expressed an intention to sell or develop the land.
- Achievable – In the opinion of the local planning authority the development is likely to take place within 15 years of entry on the register.
Portsmouth City Council’s Brownfield Land Register can be viewed using the link at the bottom of this page.