How to fill the gaps in the UK’s brownfield land data

COMMENT The economic damage wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic on our towns and cities has yet to be fully felt, but with the nation back in lockdown it will undoubtedly be deep and recovery will be long. As a specialist in regeneration, U+I knows quite a bit about revitalising struggling places. Whether you call it “levelling-up” or “building back better”, it has never been more urgent for the public and private sectors to work together to drive the recovery. Our blueprint for regeneration is based around developing meaningful partnerships with the public sector, particularly with regards to the careful and creative use of previously developed sites, known as brownfield land. But we are currently unable to contribute to this regeneration effort as much as we’d like, thanks in part to failings with Brownfield Land Registers (BLRs). These were first launched in 2016 with the aim of providing up-to-date and publicly available information on all brownfield sites, both publicly and privately owned, around the country. The laudable aim was to identify sites that could be suitable for development, thereby speeding the delivery of new homes and communities. However, nearly five years on, BLRs are still not optimised to identify sites for development in the way we would like due to a lack of accurate or reliable data. With this in mind, we commissioned an independent investigation into BLRs to assess the situation and recommend how the system could be improved. The perils of duff data Our study examined six areas – Greater London, Greater Manchester, Cambridge, Oxford, Birmingham and east Berkshire – where we found that 348,000 new homes could be built on brownfield land, amounting to almost 29% of the overall expected housing need arising in these areas by 2030. Yet even these figures are likely to underestimate the opportunity by a considerable margin. Why? Because accurate data is simply unavailable. Speaking to local authority planning departments, local government umbrella organisations and special interest groups, we found that data is often inconsistent, inaccurate and ill-maintained. This makes it harder to know where we can build and the difference we can make. For example, councils can differ in their definition of brownfield or vacant land, using divergent assessments to assign sites to the register. Also, local authorities are often insufficiently briefed about the importance of robust data and the benefits it can bring about. Many councils see timely reporting as a bureaucratic obligation or a tick-box exercise. They also lack the skills to upload and use the data effectively. And BLR data is rarely publicised widely enough to drive an increase in housing development. These factors have created a serious gap in understanding how much brownfield land is available for redevelopment and what it can be used for. But this can be fixed. We believe that by working with the public sector we can enhance its capabilities to deliver the schemes everyone wants to see. The need to invest So what needs to happen? With the Planning White Paper undergoing consultation, we have an ideal opportunity to modernise the planning system, transforming its use of data. Access to accurate and timely data would highlight the availability of land and its capacity for development. But data needs to be managed properly. Which means we need to invest in it. Local authorities cannot be expected to supply the data we all need without adequate support and guidance. We are recommending the establishment of a digital task force, with members drawn from local government, development firms and proptech companies, which would work together to assess how best we can create a better data-led planning system. There also needs to be sufficient funding so every planning department can employ a dedicated data specialist. And the Ministry for Housing, Communities & Local Government should feature a minister with specific responsibility for data-driven planning. Crucially, data reporting should be standardised across the UK, with local authorities trained in the skills necessary to work effectively in the digital world. All this will require time, commitment and, yes, money. But the effort will help transform our outmoded planning system. And in doing so it can accelerate the delivery of new homes and the creation of new communities, helping drive the economic recovery our towns and cities will desperately need as we move out of the pandemic. Richard Upton is chief executive at U+I