The new government Minister for Decentralisation, Greg Clark may have one of the most spurious titles in the newly formed coalition Government but at least he has made an impact. At the beginning of June Mr Clark announced plans to change the status of residential gardens, no longer will these be clarified Brownfield sites like redundant Commercial premises. This is potentially good news, not just for the millions of garden birds and wildlife species which thrive in our gardens, but for redundant commercial sites which remain as Brownfield sites. The South East particularly, remains short on its housing supply figures and with population growth expected to continue demand for housing in the medium term will no doubt increase. This clamping down on small ‘infill developments’, where a developer would acquire a single dwelling on a large plot before demolishing it and replacing it with several smaller dwellings, may force developers to consider former Commercial sites for development instead. This could mean for occupiers with Commercial properties and redevelopment potential there is a real opportunity to capitalise on. Increased alternative use values for commercial buildings with residential redevelopment potential could be used to procure a new contemporary building giving improved operational efficiencies at a lower occupational cost. Only time will tell, but I suspect we will see an increased number of applications for residential development on former Commercial sites as a direct result of these changes; and hopefully Planners will respond to these applications accordingly, particularly where employment land is over or inappropriately allocated. Perhaps it’s not just our garden birds that should be singing Mr Clarks praises.
Trilogie CRE is able to offer advice on land assembly and the redevelopment of commercial sites. If you have a site that may be suitable for redevelopment or residential use then please contact either Keith Martindale, Brett Casswell or Tim Crighton on 01628 811277
