Brownfield Register

The Housing and Planning Act (May 2016) makes provision for local authorities to prepare, maintain and publish a register of brownfield land. The register should identify previously developed sites in the area that the councils have assessed as being suitable for housing.

The brownfield land register will provide up to date and consistent information on sites that local authorities consider to be appropriate for residential development having regard to the criteria set out in The Town and Country Planning (Brownfield Land Register Regulations 2017.

The register should comprise a standard set of information, prescribed by the Government, that will be kept up-to-date, and made publicly available, to help provide certainty for developers and communities and encourage investment in local areas. The registers will then be used to monitor the Government’s commitment to the delivery of brownfield sites.

The register is divided into two parts:

Part 1 comprises all brownfield sites that we have assessed as appropriate for residential development. This includes sites with extant full planning permission, outline planning permission and permission in principle (PiP) as well as sites without planning permission.

Part 2 of a brownfield land register is a subset of Part 1. Part 2 will comprise only those sites in Part 1 that the local planning authority has decided would be suitable for a grant of permission in principle (PiP) for residential development. A PiP establishes the fundamental principles of development of a site in terms of its use and the approximate number of homes that the site can reasonably accommodate. A PiP is similar in practice to an ‘outline’ planning permission however, planning permission is not granted until technical details consent is applied for and approved.

If you have any queries on the details included on the register, please contact the planning policy team on planning.policy@westsuffolk.gov.uk