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Brownfield first ‘morally right’ BPF tells Select Committee

Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, told the House of Commons Environmental Audit Select Committee the NPPF should be amended to include guidance that developers should seek to build on brownfield land first.

Much of the debate surrounding the NPPF since its publication has focused on fears expressed by green groups - such as the National Trust and the Campaign to Protect Rural England - that it would lead to the despoliation of the countryside.

Peace responded that these fears could be allayed by amending the NPPF to include guidance that brownfield land should be used first, where appropriate. Peace said: “We think it’s morally right to seek brownfield land before looking elsewhere such as the greenbelt. By and large our members already build on previously developed land and would have no problem with this being enshrined in the NPPF.”

Quizzed by the Committee whether the NPPF weakens protection for the environment and could result in communities accepting unwanted development Peace responded: “I don’t think it’s the intention of the draft to diminish environmental issues at all. Developers will only want to put their efforts into building where there is a desire from the local community to do so. They don’t want to push water uphill.”

The BPF has made clear its support for the draft NPPF, believing it will help to streamline England’s bureaucratic planning system and allow good development that is desired by local communities to be built more quickly. It will also encourage councils to get on with producing local plans that offer certainty to businesses, developers, residents and those seeking to protect the countryside from unnecessary or unacceptable development.

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Patrick Clift, Media and Public Affairs Manager, on 07834 439 505 or at pclift@bpf.org.uk

Paul Sweeney, Media Officer, on 07841 732 194 or at psweeney@bpf.org.uk

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