Agenda item

Report of the Corporate Director (Public Protection, Planning and Governance) on the Brownfield Land Register for 2021.

Report of the Corporate Director (Public Protection, Planning and Governance) on the Brownfield Land Register for 2021.

Local planning authorities are required to publish and update annually a Brownfield Land Register of all previously developed sites which meet the criteria for inclusion and, in the opinion of the local authority, are considered to be suitable for development. The report set out details of the sites included in the Council’s 2021 update to the Brownfield Land Register. No sites have been included on Part 2 of the Register again this year, meaning that ‘Permission in Principle’ has not been granted for any proposals on any site.

The 2021 Brownfield Land Register included 51 sites with a total dwelling capacity of 3,676 dwellings and this compared with a dwelling capacity of 3,987 across 64 sites in the 2020 Brownfield Land register. The majority of sites on the 2021 Brownfield Land Register already had a form of planning permission making up 60% of the total dwelling capacity.

The intention of the Brownfield Land Register (BLR) was to improve knowledge of the availability of previously developed land for residential development and encouraged its use. Should they decide to do so, part 2 of the register also allows local planning authorities to grant ‘permission in principle’ (PiP). PiP allows the principle of development on a site to be established, without need for the level of detail and evidence typically required when granting a conventional outline or full planning permission. Sites receiving PiP would then only need to seek a ‘Technical Details Consent’, where more detailed issues aside from the principle of development would be considered. As no sites have been included on Part 2 of the register, the Brownfield Land Register for Welwyn Hatfield is purely a means of providing information about land availability in the borough.

During the debate the following points were raised and discussed:

•    It was noted that there were not many Brownfield Land sites located in the Borough.

•    Members asked if the density requirement for the dwelling capacity for each of these sites was calculated in the usual way for all sites in the Local Plan or were they treated differently to each other?  Officers stated that each site was assessed individually and the density assumptions vary depending on the type of site and its location. Also density requirement would vary depending on the evidence submitted. Given that a number of sites on the Brownfield register had received planning permission, density would have already been established.

•    Members asked whether the criteria that a development was likely to be achievable meant it was likely to get planning permission. Officers confirmed that the assessment would not mean a particular development scheme submitted for approval would be automatically deemed suitable if it had the same number of dwellings. However the assessment would give an indication, based on the information available that, a certain number of dwellings should be capable of being delivered at a particular site.  The number was also a guide to what could be achieved, rather than a requirement.

•    Members noted that whilst building on Brownfield sites to increase the housing stock was welcomed, this needed to be balanced with a need to have developments to facilitate employment opportunities and business growth. This may require consideration of building on the green belt. Officers stated that the Local Plan was not just about allocating sites for development, and did look at employment needs. This also applied to the current district plan, which identified areas which had been designated as employment areas; and this was a consideration when planning applications were considered. However, Officers did advise that given the Borough’s lack of a five year land supply, the weight that is given to the need to protect employment site was not as strong as the weight that is given to deliver additional dwellings. Officers noted that the Council had lost appeals on planning decisions where employment use was prioritised as a consequence of this weighting.

RESOLVED:

(unanimous)

The Panel noted the sites and dwelling capacity on the 2021 Brownfield Land Register, and that the Register will now be updated on the Council’s website.