Developers who intend of using green belt land for their latest property project have been warned they could face a lot of resistance from those who want to protect the countryside.
Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has noted there is currently planning permission for more than 400,000 homes on greenfield sites, The Express reported.
This is despite locals often protesting plans, and applications getting rejected at the council, as they are often then given permission on appeal.
CPRE’s Paul Miner instead has urged developers to consider planning on the many available brownfield sites instead.
“There is room for 1.2 million new homes on previously developed brownfield land,” he stated.
“Much of it is in town and city centres crying out for regeneration and where there is an acute need for new homes,” Mr Miner went on to say.
Despite there being 27,000 hectares of previously developed land that could be built upon, only 45 per cent of housing units have had their planning applications accepted.
Locals in rural areas are likely to want to protect their surrounding land as development of farmland has increased by a factor of 1,000 in the last decade, significantly reducing the amount of countryside available.
To avoid getting into disputes regarding land acquisitions, developers could find it easier to look at brownfield sites first.
This comes as the government revealed plans to spend £60 million to regenerate abandoned sites across England in a bid to boost jobs and increase available housing.
If you want to talk to a professional about your land acquisition strategy to avoid causing conflict with locals, give us a call today and we can see how we can help.
