Almost 1.5m homes could be built on brownfield sites in England, report finds

Exclusive: CPRE study suggests housebuilding targets can be met without encroaching on green belt land

Almost 1.5m new homes could be built on brownfield sites in England to avoid encroaching on green belt and meet the government target for housing growth by the end of this parliament, new figures suggest.

But despite the scale of brownfield land available, developers are pushing to build on green land, including increased housebuilding on and adjacent to areas of outstanding natural beauty.

More than half of the brownfield areas – 54% – have planning permission already and are considered deliverable under the national planning policy framework guidelines within five years. These provide shovel-ready sites for 770,000 properties – more than half of the government’s 1.5m target.

The countryside charity CPRE, which obtained the figures from councils all over England, is calling for the government to enforce its brownfield-first approach in order to fulfil the target of 1.5m new homes by the end of this parliament in the face of increasing development on green land.