There is space for over 6000 homes on brownfield land in Somerset

Here in Somerset, and across England, there is massive potential to develop new housing on brownfield land.  But still, developers keep building new housing on our green fields.

CPRE’s new report – State of Brownfield 2025 shows that the number of new homes that could be built on brownfield land continues to increase.  There really is no excuse to keep digging up our countryside.

Read the report

Data collected from Local Authorities shows there are almost 27,000 brownfield sites across England. That adds up to almost 30,000 hectares.

That is enough land for 1.4 million homes. 

That’s incredibly close to the Government’s target of building 1.5 million new homes!  

Data shows that 55% of brownfield sites received some full, or in-principle, permission in 2024. That means that 770,000 new homes could be built rapidly, helping the Govt to reach their target.

Our huge supply of brownfield land should be the first port of call for building the homes this country desperately needs. These sites are typically located near existing infrastructure, such as public transport, schools, and healthcare facilities, making them advantageous for development.

Even in a rural county like Somerset, there is space to build up to 6,220 homes on brownfield land.

CPRE Somerset Chair, Hugh Williams explains

Even here in rural Somerset, there is huge potential to make more of our brownfield land. We can’t keep allowing large scale housing development to tear up our green fields and dominate our village communities while so many brownfield sites lie unused, often in prime locations.  Somerset needs new homes and we should make better use of our brownfield sites to deliver good quality housing and vibrant communities whilst protecting our beautiful countryside. Here in Somerset, 45% of these brownfield sites already have planning permission for development but that leaves the remaining 55% just sitting there unused  – what a waste of space!  

What needs to change?

CPRE is calling on the Government to:

• Enforce their brownfield-first policy for new housing, including by focusing Homes England investment on brownfield sites and rejecting speculative greenfield development.
• Regularly update their brownfield registers to ensure land can be redeveloped.
• Set ambitious and enforceable targets for both affordable and social homes on shovel-ready brownfield sites.

Help us support brownfield development and save green fields

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