Housing Sprawl

Land is a scarce and valuable resource. Thousands of new homes need to be built each year in the East Midlands to cope with a rising population. However these new homes often consume unnecessary countryside as they sprawl out into the countryside, bringing new roads and traffic with them. At the same time there are huge areas of derelict land and buildings within our existing towns and cities which could be usefully developed.

Previous Government guidance was for 60% of new development to be on previously developed land, at minimum densities of 30 dwellings per hectare. Even if these targets are met, assuming that 40% of houses are built on greenfield land, this would lead to a loss of 281 hectares (equivalent to over 600 football fields) per year of unspoilt countryside, largely productive farmland, and cause significant loss of tranquillity.

In June 2010 the new Government announced they were scrapping minimum density targets, together with removing gardens brownfield classification. See CPRE's response 'government could be risking environmental disaster'.

CPRE wants local councils, which give planning permission for new housing developments, to make maximum use of brownfield land and to refuse permission for new housing developments at wastefully low densities.

Click here for statistics on land use change in England and the East Midlands, including use of previously developed land, housing density and new dwellings built on Green Belt land.