Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the development capacity for housing on brownfield sites.

Brownfield (or previously developed) land sites across England vary greatly. As such, local planning authorities are best placed to assess the suitability of individual brownfield sites for redevelopment.

National planning policy makes clear that strategic policy-making authorities should have a clear understanding of the land available in their area through the preparation of a strategic housing land availability assessment. From this, planning policies should identify a sufficient supply and mix of sites, taking into account their availability, suitability, and likely economic viability.

The government has committed capital funding through the Brownfield Land Release Fund to help overcome challenges to brownfield redevelopment such as viability issues and contamination.