The Register provides publicly available information on brownfield land that is suitable for housing, as at 1 October 2022. Through the Housing and Planning Act (2016) and The Town and Country Planning (Brownfield Land Register) Regulations 2017, a duty has been placed on local planning authorities to prepare, maintain and publish a register of brownfield land (also known as previously developed land) which the Council has assessed as being potentially suitable for residential development. Brownfield land is defined in Annex 2 of the National Planning Policy Framework.

The Register comprises of a standard set of information, prescribed by the Government, to help provide certainty for developers and communities and encourages the development of suitable brownfield sites.

As per the 2017 Regulations, eligible sites need to meet four criteria:

  • (a) the land has an area of at least 0.25 hectares or is capable of supporting at least 5 dwellings;
  • (b) the land is suitable for residential development;
  • (c) the land is available for residential development; and
  • (d) residential development of the land is achievable.

The Regulations allow for the Council to add sites onto the Register if they do not meet criteria (a), as long as the site meets criteria (b) – (d).

The Regulations states that the Brownfield Land Register must be maintained in two parts:

  • Part 1 comprises of the list of brownfield sites across the District boundaries that are considered appropriate for residential developments regardless of their planning status; and
  • Part 2 is a subset of Part 1, comprising only those sites in Part 1 that the District Council considers would be suitable for a grant of Permission in Principle (PiP) for residential or residential-led development. The Town and Country Planning (Permission in Principle) Order 2017 states that the sites entered in Part 2 will be granted planning permission in principle.

Part 1 of the Register is compulsory, while Part 2 is discretionary. There are currently no sites entered on Part 2 of the Register.

Rother District Council’s Brownfield Land Register, compiled according to a nationally consistent format, has been informed by:

  • sites which already have extant planning permission
  • sites which have lapsed planning permission since 2011
  • sites covered by ‘saved’ allocation policies contained in the 2006 Local Plan
  • sites covered by existing allocation policies contained in ‘made’ Neighbourhood Plans, including Battle, Crowhurst, Rye, Sedlescombe, Salehurst and Robertsbridge and Ticehurst
  • sites covered within development plans including the Development and Site Allocations (DaSA) Local Plan
  • Green and Amber sites in the Council’s Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA).

It is not considered that the Council’s Register falls within the scope of the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004 and therefore does not require Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). A detailed note regarding SEA can be found under Brownfield Land Register Documents.

A brief explanation of each of the fields used in the Register is available in the Data Guidance note under Brownfield Land Register Documents.

The Register will be updated at least annually.

Brownfield Land Register data is provided under the Open Government Licence.

Submitting a site for consideration on the Brownfield Land Register

A site submission form has been made available and will remain open for individuals who wish to submit a site for consideration on the Brownfield Land Register.

Please submit the site using the Brownfield Land Register Site Submission Form under Brownfield Land Register Documents below. Please note these are interactive forms that can be filled in electronically and emailed to us at planning.strategy@rother.gov.uk.

Any queries relating to the Brownfield Land Register can be directed to the planning strategy team at planning.strategy@rother.gov.uk.

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