Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department is conducting any reviews or site surveys to investigate whether any brownfield sites could be transformed into nature reserves or green areas.
Each brownfield site has its own characteristics: some brownfield will be important to nature conservation or as green infrastructure. My department does not provide site-specific advice, but our National Planning Policy Framework expects every local authority to identify, protect and enhance wildlife habitat and ecological networks, and seek opportunities to secure accessible green spaces that will benefit the community. There is no presumption that all brownfield sites should be built on. It is the local authority which is best placed to determine what purposes a particular site should serve, after consulting local people and, where appropriate, expert bodies such as Natural England or the Wildlife Trusts.