The government today announced that in 2001 it had beaten its PPG3 target for 60% of new housing to be built on brownfield land by 2008 – by 1%.
A DTLR statistical release, Land Use Change in England: Residential Development to 2001 – LUCS-17, said that 61% of new homes built in 2001 were on previously developed land or were conversions of existing buildings.
The release revealed, however, that the government is not meeting the density targets set out in PPG3.
Planning minister Lord Falconer said: “In 2001, dwellings were still built at an average of only 25 dwellings per ha (10 dwellings per acre), compared with the 30 to 50 (12 to 20 per acre) recommended in PPG3.
“More than half of the land used for new dwellings is built at density of less than 20 dwellings per ha (eight dwellings per acre).”
Falconer said that there needed to be a continued push towards more efficient use of land.
EGi News 28/05/02
