What exactly is brownfield land?
Put simply, its land which has previously been built on.
This means that sometimes it might be contaminated and will need work to remove the contamination.
Sometimes it will have existing structures, which will have to be cleared.
But the good news is that this is precisely the sort of site the government actively wants to be used for construction.
Whilst this might not mean that planning permission is guaranteed, there should certainly be fewer hoops to jump through as a result.
So, if you own land on which stood a former business or industrial unit – such as an office, recycling yard, petrol station, car sales, metal plating facility or dry cleaners, you may be sitting on a prime development site.
There are also key advantages to re-developing land like this:
- It can improve the local environment by cleaning up contamination and reducing blight
- It can move abandoned or underused sites to a more useful location elsewhere
- Ultimately, it can reduce urban sprawl and preserve green space.
For example, the owner of this ex-MOT garage in the Surrey stockbroker belt had been holding the property in their pension, and was happy to continue collecting rent, which generated a small income.
However, changes in property regulations – particularly around Energy Performance Certificates or ‘EPCs’ – altered his long-term plans and meant that it was more profitable for him to sell for development instead.
If you would like to sell a brownfield site you own, we have a steady stream of small and medium-sized housebuilders who might be interested.
Call us for a free, no obligation valuation: 01932 950500 (South East) or 01392 956 956 (South West)
Or email: mail@astonmead.land
