1. Greenfield And Brownfield Sites

2. Greenfield Or Brownfield Development?
Land that has already been built upon
Greenfield
Land that hasn’t been built upon before

3. 4.4 million new dwellings are needed between 1991 and 2016.
Why do you think so many new houses are needed?

4. Why Is There A Need For More Housing In The UK?
The population of the UK will keep rising until 2036
70 % of new homes are wanted by single people UK
Are there any alternatives to building more houses?

5. Prescott acts to stop greenbelt building
‘Housing developers are to be told that they can no longer build upon greenfield sites if alternative brownfield sites are available…Mr Prescott has also asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to impose VAT on all new house building. At the moment, no VAT is levied on new building, although the full 17.5% rate is applied to the refurbishment of old properties…..Local authorities rather than developers, will be able to determine which land is built upon, and a national land use database will identify suitable brownfield areas. Councils will also be told to convert derelict industrial land to housing use.’
March 2000
How is Mr Prescott (the former Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions) encouraging Brownfield development?

6. Consider the following issues:
Summarise the advantages and disadvantages of developing new homes on greenfield sites compared to using brownfield sites.
Consider the following issues:
increase urban sprawl?
impact on congestion?
impact on the drainage basin cycle and flooding?
the impact on derelict land in the inner city? (there is over 300 square km² of derelict land in England)
the need for new roads?
the cost of building new homes?
impact on the countryside?

7. Designated major housing developments in Cambridgeshire3 7 2 1 5
Cambourne
Cambridge 4
Greenbelt 6 8 2
Proposed housing developments

8. Cambourne – Greenfield development
Cambourne is a private development of three villages, Great Cambourne, Little Cambourne and Upper Cambourne, nine miles west of Cambridge. It is being developed by three private companies – Bovis, Bryant Homes and Alfred McAlpine and was started in The housing in Great Cambourne is now complete and the developers are now concentrating on building in Lower Cambourne. Eventually the development will comprise over 3000 houses.

9. Cambourne Cambourne is built on a greenfield site
(land that hasn’t previously been built upon).

10. Cambourne
Cambourne is more than just housing. The development includes a primary school, a business park, Ecumenical Church Centre, planned wooded areas, cycle lanes and ecological areas.

11. Cambourne
Great Cambourne has been built but the villages of Little and Upper Cambourne are incomplete.
Why do you think that the shops have yet to move into the area? (hint - think about threshold population)

12. Cambourne Describe the type of housing found in Great Cambourne.

13. Activity 1
It is proposed that 1000 new homes are to be built in, or around your local town/city...
Describe why developers would prefer to build most, or all, of the new houses on Greenfield Sites.
Suggest some problems and conflicts that might result from the increased use of rural areas for leisure and recreation.
Describe why conservation groups and people living in nearby villages want the new houses to be built on Brownfield Sites.