Issue - meetings

The Senior Planning Policy Officer presented the report to the Committee.

The Town and Country Planning (Brownfield Land Register) Regulations 2017 required local planning authorities to prepare and maintain a register of previously developed land within their area annually.

Regulations required this information to be published in a ‘spreadsheet’ format to provide standardisation across the country and enable easier data analysis.  However, this format did not suit easy reading by the public.

Key highlights included:

·       368 dwellings built on brownfield land since 2017;

·       3 new sites added in 2024 which could deliver 15 dwellings on brownfield land; and,

·       in total there were now 29 live sites on the register – if developed they could deliver a minimum of 1,060 dwellings on brownfield land.

Former industrial sites had also been brought forward – the Council had taken steps to make use of these.

To comply with regulations, the 2024 report and ‘spreadsheet’ were published on the Council’s website before the end of 2024.  It was considered appropriate to formally notify the Committee on the findings of the 2024 update.

A Member commented Officers had done a fantastic job with 1,000 potential homes allocated for the District.

To a question on the illegible item attached at Appendix a, the Senior Devolution Lead for Planning Policy, Strategic Growth and Housing confirmed this was the ‘spreadsheet’ Brownfield Land Register, hence the need to make it accessible for the public to understand.

The Chair stated it was an excellent report.

Moved by Councillor John Ritchie and seconded by Councillor Phil Smith

RESOLVED that the Planning Committee notes: 1) the information within the Brownfield Land Register Summary Report and Formal Register Spreadsheet as set out in Appendix A and B respectively; and,

2)    that the Council’s Brownfield Land Register monitoring return was published on its website before the 31^st  December 2024 deadline.