Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Brownfield Land: Development

Monday 16 October 2023 · 6 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Government strongly encourages the reuse of suitable brownfield land for new developments.
  • Local authorities are directed to give substantial weight to the use of brownfield land within settlements for homes and other needs.
  • The Secretary of State emphasizes the importance of protecting green spaces between settlements and areas of natural beauty.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Henry Smith Con
Housing
Context

Policy context around the use of brownfield sites for housing developments.

Question

What his policy is on the use of brownfield land for new developments. I am concerned about homes England's proposals to build up to 10,000 houses on greenfield sites in my constituency and the directive given by the Department on its brownfield-first building policy.

Answer from Michael Gove

The Government strongly encourage the reuse of suitable brownfield land. Our national planning policy framework makes it clear that local authorities should give substantial weight to the value of using suitable brownfield land within settlements for homes and other identified needs. The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill will further empower local leaders to regenerate urban centres by strengthening and adding to existing measures.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific directive to Homes England not addressed, only general encouragement mentioned

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Q2 Henry Smith Con
Housing Local Government
Context

Interest from the West Midlands Combined Authority and its Mayor in a brownfield site.

Question

My I help out the Secretary of State? He is aware of the Grove Lane site on the Sandwell-Birmingham border, an ideal brownfield site for housing. Will his Department get on with it?

Answer from Michael Gove

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman, who refers to the Mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority, the only metro Mayor to significantly exceed housing targets in the delivery of new homes. He is that rare thing: a Labour MP who welcomes house building in his own constituency. Of course I will support him.

Not addressed: Specific action on Grove Lane site not addressed, shifted to praise for local support

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Q3 John Spellar Lab
Housing Environment
Context

Development concerns in Durrington, Worthing.

Question

Over 1,000 new homes built in Durrington. Will he ask his inspectors—and the Leader of the Opposition—to recognise that Chatsmore Farm and Lansdowne Nurseries should not be built on? We must have some green fields between one habitation and another.

Answer from Michael Gove

The Father of the House makes a very important point. Of course, his beautiful constituency—situated as it is between the sea and areas of outstanding natural beauty—has already seen significant development and we do need to ensure that settlements have the green belts around them protected.

Not addressed: Recognition from inspectors and opposition leader not addressed, shifted to general comment on preservation importance

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Q4 Peter Bottomley Con
Housing
Context

Concerns about affordable housing provision on brownfield sites.

Question

On developing brownfield sites, will the Secretary of State consider giving powers to councils such as Westmorland and Furness, and to planning authorities such as those in the Yorkshire dales and the Lake district, to ensure exclusive provision for affordable and social rented housing so that we do not see communities such as ours dying out because all the houses built end up being sold for second homes?

Answer from Michael Gove

From his perspective as an assiduous constituency Member, the hon. Gentleman makes a very good point, but may I commiserate with him? At the recent Liberal Democrat conference, I am afraid he was defeated, and his party adopted a housing policy that he describes as Thatcherite. It is a source of sadness to me to be outflanked on the right by the Liberal Democrats, but may I welcome more defections to the Thatcherite cause from those who once embraced my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss) as one of their own?

Not addressed: Powers for councils not addressed, shifted to criticism of opposition housing policy

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Q5 Tim Farron Lib Dem Westmorland and Lonsdale
Local Government Environment
Context

Concerns about local neighbourhood plans and protection of designated sites.

Question

My constituents are frustrated with the planning system in that, although sites are allocated and protected in neighbourhood plans, when applications come in, their concerns about those sites are not listened to by local planning committees and by the inspectorate. Will the Secretary of State tell my constituents in Witham what measures are in place in local neighbourhood plans and local development plans to protect these sites from being built on, so that the focus is on brownfield sites first and foremost?

Answer from Michael Gove

My right hon. Friend makes a very important point. If her local authority has an up-to-date plan, that is the best protection against speculative development. If, however, a local authority does not have a plan in place, there can be a presumption in favour of sustainable development and that can be upheld by the Planning Inspectorate, which could mean development on sites where local communities do not wish to see it. That is why it is so important for local authorities to adopt plans.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific measures to protect designated sites not addressed, shifted to importance of local authority planning adoption

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Q6 Priti Patel Con Witham
Housing
Context

Argument about the need for greenfield development in areas with limited brownfield land.

Question

The Secretary of State is a very clever man, and he must know that if there had been a large amount of brownfield land, it would have been built on. The fact of the matter is that we in this country must bite the bullet and build on land other than brownfield, because there is not enough of it. Does he agree that courage along with intellect would help us solve the housing problem?

Answer from Michael Gove

The hon. Gentleman is a man of independent mind, and he is straying from Front-Bench policy by decreeing me a man of intelligence—that is not the official Labour party position on these issues—but I should say that he is right. It is not only brownfield land that can be developed, but it must be brownfield first, and there is significant room for additional brownfield development if we invest in urban regeneration, which we are doing.

Not addressed: Agreement on greenfield necessity not addressed, shifted to emphasis on brownfield development

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