HC Deb 13 July 1998 vol 316 cc13-4W
Mr. Jim Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress is being made in ensuring that Government targets for brown-field regeneration are met within the current unitary development plans. [49679]

Mr. Raynsford

The Government expect local authorities to make full and effective use of previously developed land both when allocating land for housing in their local plans and UDPs and when they decide planning applications. Authorities are making good progress towards that goal. Currently nationally over half of all new dwellings are being built on previously used sites.

In February, the Government announced in Planning for the Communities of the Future that they expected local authorities to be able to raise the national proportion of new homes to be built on previously developed land to 60 per cent. over the next 10 years. The same document went on to announce that the Government expect regional planning conferences to draw up regional recycling targets. This is because some regions will already be close to, or achieving, the national target, whilst others may be unable to match it because of their geographical and other circumstances.