Councils hold on to land with potential for 'thousands of homes'

Forty per cent of brownfield land with potential in London is owned by local authorities and 25% in the rest of the country, says property consultancy Daniel Watney.

The firm’s analysis of Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows 10,000 hectares of the 23,000 hectares of brownfield land in England is suitable for housing, which could support 460,000 homes.

London boroughs alone own 1,123 hectares suitable for development, which could support 157,221 homes in total. Although, these figures only include 12 London councils, the report points out.

The report Challenges of brownfield land concludes the 25% of brownfield land with potential owned by councils (2,500 hectares) across England has enough space for nearly 120,000 homes.

John Harding, senior partner at Daniel Watney, said: ‘These figures show the true scale of opportunity we have to re-use brownfield sites for new homes.

‘In London, inner-city boroughs like Westminster continue to do a great job of managing the short supply of land they have. But as transport improves, outer London areas such as Redbridge and Hounslow will need to play a vital role in meeting the capital’s housing need.’

He also warned new health, transport and education services needed to be developed along with housing to support the new residents.

The report found outside of London, Liverpool and Birmingham have the highest potential for brownfield development – with space for 19,112 and 16,391 houses respectively – with publicly owned land having the potential to provide 49% and 21% of the new homes.