News & Articles

Hundreds of thousands of new homes will be built on derelict and unused land through a £1.8 billion package of investment to regenerate land and level up across the country, announced by the Chancellor in his Budget and Spending Review.

£300 million of locally-led grant funding will be awarded to Mayoral Combined Authorities and Local Authorities to unlock smaller brownfield sites for housing, promoting inner city regeneration and protecting the countryside.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak has said: “We are investing in better quality, safer, greener and more affordable homes to create thriving places where people want to live. One of my favourite pastimes is to go for walks in the park with my family, and I want to make sure everyone has green space on their doorstep to enjoy too. Transforming our unloved and neglected urban spaces will help protect our cherished countryside and green spaces, while improving the physical and mental health of our communities.”

A new £9 million Levelling Up Parks Fund that will enable Local Authorities to transform over 100 neglected urban spaces across the UK into ‘pocket parks’, providing small green oasis in built up areas, roughly the size of a tennis court, in built-up locations.

We warmly welcome any moves to ensure that urban regeneration is promoted in a sustainable way that greens our environment, fosters bio-diversity and improves the quality of life.

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There has been a dramatic drop in new residential projects on land that had already been developed, from 40% in 2014, to just 20% in 2018.

EIC argues in their recent launch that brownfield development can help meet ambitions around levelling up, but in order to do so further planning reforms, as well as new tax reliefs and development incentives, are required.

The proposals in the report for the greenfield surcharge, which would be added to the infrastructure levy proposed in recent planning changes, would see the funds earmarked by local authorities for infrastructure spending to help mitigate the higher development costs often associated with brownfield.

Commenting on Brownfield First, Matthew Farrow, director of policy at EIC, says: “Our analysis shows that developers are making significantly less use of brownfield, yet there is huge potential for it to deliver ambitions around levelling up. Not only can it help find the space for 300,000 homes a year, but it can also funnel new investment to those traditionally underfunded post-industrial towns, cities and communities.

“Our practical, common-sense proposal around a greenfield surcharge would revitalise brownfield development, help to deliver homes, and ensure that we are making the most of this chronically underused asset.”

Additionally the report seeks improvements to the economic viability of marginal brownfield projects by increasing land remediation tax relief on sites with fewer than 25 units, and to update the definition of derelict land to incorporate all sites that have been abandoned for more than a decade.

Finally, it argues that new funding earmarked for levelling-up, either through the new National Infrastructure Bank or the Levelling Up Fund, should specifically favour brownfield proposals over greenfield.

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The Construction Leadership Council has announced CO2nstruct Zero a programme to drive carbon out of all parts of the construction sector, from manufacturing and design to construction and operation. This move is intended to highlight those priorities that the industry must tackle in order to reduce carbon.

This is with the aim of ensuring that the construction sector to play its part in achieving the UK government’s objective of net zero for the whole economy by 2050.

Find out more >>

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Every site is different some however are more memorable than others. We have recently completed a phase 1 walkover and desktop report for this former chapel or tin tabernacle, thus nicknamed for the obvious reason they were clad and roofed in corrugated metal sheeting. This one has been used as a store for domestic items for some years and it now looking rather sad.

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SE London NHS CCG commission new mental health support service for adults in south east London

• NHS South East London CCG has commissioned Qwell, the UK’s leading provider of digital mental health support.
• Qwell, delivered by Kooth, is accessible for anyone over 26 in the area, with no referrals, waiting lists or thresholds to meet.
• Kooth has seen an increased demand for mental health support from adults across the UK due to Covid-19.

NHS South East London Clinical Commissioning Group has commissioned Qwell, a free anonymous online counselling and emotional wellbeing service for adults from digital mental health pioneers Kooth.  

Qwell is accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and offers early preventative care and support without any prior thresholds to meet.
Read more and find out how to access support here

On the 29 January 2021 the Secretary of State wrote to the Mayor confirming that he is content for the Mayor’s new London Plan to be formally published, with no further changes. 

The Mayor will now progress to formally publish the new London Plan. This will take a few weeks, in order to allow for statutory notifications to be issued alongside other administrative tasks.

We have been involved in this project from the start, and first visited site on 16 January 2017 to undertake a site walkover for our phase 1 desktop study. Subsequently we undertook an intrusive investigation and produced a remediation strategy to deal with the contamination identified.

We returned recently to undertake verification sampling in the gardens of the completed project. It is a truly splendid building, more details can be found on Simon Gill Architects website. If you want to see the interior and follow the development you can watch the Grand Designs episode of More 4

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Artist’s impression by kind permission of Simon Gill Architects

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Artist’s impression by kind permission of Simon Gill Architects

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“Before” when we undertook our walkover in January 2017

New measures to recover from the pandemic and help provide much-needed new homes have been set out recently by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick.

Under the proposals, cities will be encouraged to plan for more family homes – which are the right size and type for families to live in – and to make the most of vacant buildings and underused land to protect green spaces. 

Using brownfield sites clearly makes sense on many levels but does it stack up financially. We cannot provide cost advice but what we do know is that contamination and remediation can have a dramatic impact on costs. Contamination is not a separate issue to be considered later, cost effective remediation could impact site levels, drainage strategy and site layout. Getting early advice is crucial if remediation costs are to be minimised.

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A developer is now able to give planning authorities “Prior Notification” of certain changes of use rather than applying for full planning permission. These changes of use include:
 Change of use of a building from business to residential
 Change of use of a building to a school
 Change of use from an agricultural building to another use

The process requires a developer to make an application to the local planning authority for a determination as to whether prior approval will be required as to the transport and highway impacts, flooding risk and contamination risk. This application must be made before beginning a development and the application should consist of the developer’s
details and a plan showing the proposed development. Further information is only required if the local planning authority consider it necessary to assess the transport impact, flood or contamination risk. If there is no risk identified, prior approval is not required and the development can take place without further permission from the local planning authority.

We have considerable experience of preparing contaminated land desktop reports and flood risk assessments for these types of projects. If you would like some advice on a project call me, Peter George on 07765 232995.

This timely document is entitled Before You Dig, Garages & Petrol Stations, Guidance for Developers, EPUK. David Rudland et al.

EPUK say “This guide has been produced now because we anticipate alternative fuels will make many of the 8500 retail forecourts in the UK surplus over the next 5-10 years or so. Repurposing this kind of brownfield site presents particular challenges of the sort that drive some developers to seek greenfield sites instead.

The guide describes how petrol stations were constructed, operated, and decommissioned, outlining particular issues around decontamination and signposting towards further guidance. Tips for good practice and case studies appear throughout.“

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