§ Lord Hardy of Wathasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether local authorities have been specifically asked to favour housing development on brownfield sites; and, if so, whether they are satisfied that such a policy is being implemented. [HL109]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Whitty)PPG3 (Planning Policy Guidance for Housing) requires local planning authorities to make the best possible use of previously developed land for housing. The policy document,Planning for the Communities of the Future, which was published last February, reiterated this policy and set a national target that 60 per cent. of additional housing should be built on previously developed sites over the next 10 years. This target is to be underpinned by targets set regionally by local authorities and will be revisited once the regional targets have each been agreed. A National Land Use Database is being set up, the first 71WA priority of which is to establish exactly how much previously developed land exists which can be recycled. PPG3 is under revision and the new draft, which will be circulated for consultation early next year, will include further guidance on development of housing on previously-used land.