The government require each local planning authority in England to prepare, maintain and publish a register of previously developed (brownfield) land suitable for housing. They consider that the purpose of the registers is to provide up-to-date and consistent information on sites that local authorities consider appropriate for residential development.
The council published its first brownfield land register in December 2017. The most recent register was published in November 2020 and identifies land with the potential to accommodate 20,693 net additional dwellings across the city. Note that the brownfield register is only a partial picture of potential sites for new housing; the housing and economic land availability assessment (HELAA) is much more comprehensive as it also includes dwellings on brownfield sites that are under construction, and dwellings on sites that are not completely brownfield in nature. The brownfield register does not include these sites given government guidance on the issue.
