To support the UK’s focus on delivering sustainable regeneration and 5,800 new homes on a brownfield site, housebuilders can consider what these sites have to offer and how they can create sustainable homes at accessible prices. By committing to working towards the latest targets announced by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, housebuilders across the UK can bring lasting change that improves the economic and wellbeing outcomes of communities across the UK.

Tim Wray, Group Development Director at top 10 UK housebuilder Keepmoat, reflects on these new targets and how planning, construction and development teams can pinpoint brownfield redevelopment projects to create sustainable communities in spaces that were once unused, to benefit populations across the UK . 

Redeveloping brownfield sites

• Expand on brownfield land and the targets revealed in January to create homes on these sites by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
• The funding will deliver 5,800 new homes by March 2027, create around 18,000 new jobs in the housing and construction sector
• Expand on the vital roles of Planning teams within housebuilders and why brownfield sites are key/seeing the potential in brownfield sites

Sustainable land

Developing brownfield land and creating thriving new communities is key to delivering the government’s housing targets, whilst also contributing to the UK’s sustainable regeneration advancements.

With more than 67,000 acres of brownfield land across the country, if developed effectively, these unused sites can  offer sustainable, social and economic benefits to the surrounding cities and towns. Brownfield sites also provide ideal opportunities to provide housing stock at accessible price points, creating employment opportunities, promoting conservation efforts and adding new social areas, such as playgrounds, playing fields or sitting areas.

Developers may want to look at  prioritising sustainable development practices as we look to the future of housebuilding. By purchasing formerly developed land, these sites continue to promote urban regeneration, providing new homes, workplaces, and amenities in areas that have suffered from neglect or lack of investment.

Many local authorities also support regeneration in their communities, making it easier for developers to gain planning permission to create new housing stock at a price point that residents can afford. 

Keepmoat recently began work on a new site of 300 new homes in Northstowe, Cambridgeshire. The homes will be constructed using a closed panel timber frame technique to deliver part of the second phase of the new town which is located on former RAF military land. 

Developing this unused RAF site means the newest Cambridgeshire town, which in total will see more than 10,000 homes, eight schools, a new town centre with multiple facilities and open spaces provided, will become a sustainable, lively community. 

Land acquisition 

• How housebuilders can pick out key developments by working with an agile approach to the planning process, working with landowners, local planning authorities and communities to secure deliverable planning consents

Revitalising communities through the delivery of high-quality multi tenure homes, in well-designed and well-connected neighbourhoods, is made possible through a strong local authority partnership approach. One such partnership is the Leeds City Council Brownfield Land Programme. Keepmoat is working with Leeds CIty Council to deliver 1,000 new multi tenure homes, across 13 brownfield developments across east Leeds. 

The scheme is widely considered to be the most prominent package of brownfield redevelopment in the Leeds area. The large-scale intervention will not only broaden the housing on offer in East Leeds but will aid the regeneration of three neighbourhoods, through local amenities, highway improvements and greenspace provision. The housing stock is multi-tenure and set at accessible price points to attract first time buyers and young professionals to the area. 68% of purchasers are between 18-30 years old.

The Synergy development in Halton Moor is the latest in the Leeds Brownfield project to see construction begin. The project will deliver 109 new two, three and four-bedroom properties, of which a percentage are available for affordable housing provision through Leeds Federated Housing Association. Keepmoat and the Council have engaged with local schools, colleges and employment groups to recruit local young people through apprenticeship schemes. 

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