How land is classified can make a big difference to where it fits within local and national planning policy, and hence, the ultimate likelihood of success of a planning application. With a shortage of land available, developers also need to be more creative in their site sourcing. However, some planning terms are not only ambiguous, but don’t even have an official definition. Here we explore the term “greenfield”, including what it is, where it fits within planning guidelines, and opportunities and constraints for developers.

First, what is greenfield land?

There is, in fact, no official definition of “greenfield” land to be found in NPPF policy guidelines. However, in planning terms, it is a description of a site’s physical characteristics, that is having the appearance of never being built on. 

What’s the difference between greenfield and Green Belt?

The two are quite different (although just to confuse, greenfield can be found within Green Belt zones). To clarify:

Greenfield is open land which is being considered as part of a strategy for future development.

Green Belt forms part of Government policy, for creating a highly protected buffer of land between town and countryside, with the aim of controlling urban growth.

Ok, so what types of land are greenfield?

As 70% of land in the UK is designated for agricultural use this will make up the majority of greenfield land in rural areas. Other land types which may fall under the category of greenfield include grassland, forestry, and open amenity spaces.

Contrary to what you might assume, whilst conjuring up visions of rolling countryside, greenfield can also be found in built up areas. Residential gardens, parks, allotments and other recreation grounds which are excluded from NPPF guidelines for “previously developed land”, are arguably also classed as greenfield. 

What are the pros and cons of building on greenfield land?

A blank canvas of open land is in theory a more attractive proposition; less site clearance required, no contamination from previous builds, and more flexibility for site design. Greenfield can also be more attractive to buyers; a well designed suburban scheme offers an appealing balance of infrastructure, community, and green spaces, for living and working in the post you-know-what era. All good news for developers. 

There are drawbacks, including that greenfield land is relatively expensive to buy and any savings in site clearance are often offset by planning conditions – more to follow later. It’s also well acknowledged that use of rural greenfield for building can be highly controversial, not least due to negative environmental impacts.

How does greenfield fit into planning regulations?

For house building purposes, local authorities must take a “brownfield first” approach. This therefore means it is harder to achieve planning permission for development on bare, greenfield land, relative to land that has already been built on. 

Getting planning for rural greenfield

Typically (though not exclusively) greenfield sites are located at the edge of urban settlements: have a look at this example scheme in West Sussex, a 5.86-acre village site comprising 120 units, built on a mixture of former gardens, agricultural and other greenfield land.

Planning policy also discourages the use of best and most versatile (BMV) farmland for housing (our blog on agricultural land classification has more details on this). However, planning decisions (as we all know) also need to be offset against the need to meet housing targets. Notably, a recent CPRE report confirms that around 14,000 acres of prime (BMV) agricultural land was used for development between 2010-22, so it can be done.

For a strategic approach to building your pipeline, depending on local housing needs, there may be opportunities to submit proposals for schemes over five homes as part of a call for sites. This is an opportunity for approaching local farmers, with a view to a joint submission for possible inclusion in the five year land bank as part of the local plan.

Notwithstanding all this, achieving planning will still be challenging. Key aspects to bear in mind:

• You will need to address environmental policy for safeguarding ecology and wildlife.
• In specified protected areas you will also need to take steps to mitigate your nutrient footprint. 
• Ensure access to work and community spaces (shops, schools etc), to meet economic and social needs.
• With Carbon Zero on the agenda, transport infrastructure is also important. Transport for New Homes reports that many rural greenfield developments are built around a “car-park to car-park” design, and fail to consider public transport from shops and services. 

Happily, SearchLand’s mapping overlays offer all the information you need to assess environmental and infrastructure planning constraints, as well as other site criteria like flood risks. 

Building on urban greenfield

With the Government confirming ongoing targets to build 300,000 homes per year, the Cities and Urban Centres Uplift gives added pressure on LPAs to provide housing in urban areas. Whilst greenfield land is less predominant in towns, there are plots out there: such as this 0.6 acre site in north London, comprising a stretch of amenity grassland at the end of a residential street. 

A quick search using our infill layer sourcing tool flagged up another, adjacent, potential site which is shaded pink on the image below.

Residential gardens, which have good access, and are close to local infrastructure, are obvious targets for development. However, due to a policy change, to stop unwanted “garden-grabbing”, garden sites are now no longer classified as “previously developed land”, so planning is harder to achieve.

That said, hotspots such as London and Bristol are constrained by the Green Belt. A report by CPRE  also suggests that there are insufficient brownfield land supplies in both cities to meet their 5 Year Housing Targets.  Where an area is falling behind its housing delivery test results (read more about this here), the local planning authority is more likely to be open to viewing and approving planning applications. Hint – SearchLand has tools that can quickly and easily show you local authorities where this is the case. 

Applications for developments in garden ground will still need to prove that they are not “inappropriate development” that would “cause harm to the local area” (NPPF, para 71). In addition to failing to meet sustainability guidelines, a development on this garden site was refused planning permission, as being "out of keeping and character”.

Happily, our platform gives you all the details you need on historic planning decisions, including relating to size, height, and plot density, to help you see which applications are most likely to gain approval.

‍What’s next? And how can SearchLand help?

Despite prohibitive planning policy, there are clearly opportunities here for development on greenfield land. Key takeaways are to do your due diligence, to ensure that your proposal for development is meeting the environmental, social and economic guidelines of the NPPF.

With ever more competition for viable development land, finding and validating more sites is what SearchLand is all about. We can help with the whole site sourcing process, from planning constraints to planning history and potential price per square foot. Oh, and we can source land ownership details, and even help you write directly to the vendor.

If you aren’t already using the platform for sourcing sites, contact one of our team for a no obligation demonstration.

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