Ian Grant

The proposals in the National Planning Policy Framework to create a grey belt and allow development on the Green Belt has set the cat among the pigeons in the industry. At this Brownfield & Regeneration Network Leaders’ Discussion, Michael Lunn, of Environmental Industries Association, formerly Head of Public Affairs, ACE and Ben Simpson, Planning Director, Lichfields, along with invited attendees, tackled issues ranging from viability and special measures to benchmark land values and beefing up brownfield registers.

WSP has developed a set of principles for the design of streetscapes called Future Ready Streets to ensure a sustainable approach is understood, communicated and adopted. In this Sustainability Delivery Group Expert Talk, Joe Harries, Deputy Head of Landscape & Urban Design, and Camille Delegue, Principal Landscape Architect outlined the challenges of creating tangible outputs from a multitude of disciplines and guidance. Ian Grant reports.

Earthworks, or the use of engineered fill, is now a frequent activity as sites need to be prepared before house building can take place. In this Network event, speakers from NHBC’s Land Quality Service team explain the newly published addition to the NHBC’s Standards, Chapter 4.6 - Engineered Fill.

The Competition and Markets Authority finds land banking is primarily a symptom of wider problems in the market, mainly driven by the time and uncertainty associated with obtaining planning permission and it puts forward recommendations for reform

A key change from the November draft is in paragraph 006: “Plan-makers should not seek a higher percentage than the statutory objective of 10% biodiversity net gain, either on an area-wide basis or for specific allocations for development unless justified."

Two themes stood out at the Brownfield and Regeneration Network Conference, Brownfield Land Scotland: collaborative working to compensate for less funding for investigation and remediation, and the improvement in data quality and management.

The Environment Agency (EA) recognises that the full value of remediation in terms of the economic, social and environmental benefits is not well understood, and it is often viewed as a cost burden or liability.

As construction and installation methods change, guidance on protective measures against radon gas intrusion needed updating. At our online Brownfield and Regeneration Network event, a range of speakers outlined the changes to BR211: Guidance on Protective Measures for New Dwellings.

The UK will struggle to meet metal demand for electric vehicle batteries, as many valuable metals such as aluminium, lithium and cobalt are currently locked up in landfill sites. Dr Stuart Wagland, reader in energy and environmental chemistry at Cranfield University, outlines how metals can be extracted, providing finance and increasing the viability of developing the sites.

Nitrogen and phosphorus neutrality must be achieved by new housing developments located in multiple catchments across the UK. In a Sustainability Delivery Group Expert Talk, James Ellaway, technical director of WSP’s water division, details the current situation, challenges and possible solutions.