2. chilmarkconsulting.co.uk
Who are we?
Chilmark Consulting is an independent, planning and development
advisory firm offering a wide range of services and skills focused on
complex, mixed-use development projects.
Mike is the Managing Director of Chilmark Consulting with
20+ years experience. Key areas of expertise:
• Town planning
• Policy development
• Housing, employment land and strategic land
promotion
• Urban regeneration and brownfield development
• Asset strategy
5. chilmarkconsulting.co.uk
Brownfield Land Registers –
Headlines
• Proposed in the Housing & Planning Bill
• Statutory Registers to be compiled by every
Local Authority
• Publicly available
• Annually reviewed, at least
• Standardised form and content to be applied
• Draw from SHLAA’s and Call for Sites
• Section 3 of Technical Consultation on
Implementation of Planning Changes provides
the details
6. chilmarkconsulting.co.uk
Brownfield Land Registers - Process
Available
• Deliverable - in 5 yrs
• Developable - in 6-10 yrs
• Proportionate viability appraisal
Meets
Minimum Size
• 5+ dwellings
• 0.25 Ha sites
Capable of
Development
• Free from constraints that cannot be mitigated
• Evidence of constraints/mitigations
• EiA by the LPA where necessary (subject to screening)
7. chilmarkconsulting.co.uk
Brownfield Land Registers - Issues
• Registers intended to be integral to Permission in Principle
approach – ‘Locally Supported Qualifying Document’
• A ‘Low Bar’ appears to be set for ’suitability’ and inclusion of
sites – “only reject if no realistic prospect of site being suitable”
• Resourcing issues for LPA’s particularly:
– Sites where there is potential need for EiA and HRA
– Annual updating and expansion of the Register
• Time and resource savings?
• Differential impacts by geographic area?
• Above all, the ability of Registers to adequately reflect the
development risks/challenges of brownfield land
10. chilmarkconsulting.co.uk
Bearing Brownfield Risks
Private Sector
Above or at Trend Land &
Sale Market Values for End
Uses
Planning Policy conformity
No/Few Physical
Constraints
Pre-let Occupiers/End Users
Strong Profit/ROI
Hybrid/Shared
Speculative Development
With Few / No Pre-let
Occupiers or End Users
Reduced Profit/ROI
Public Authority
Significant Enabling
/Infrastructure Costs
Low/Little Market Interest
Establishing New Uses in
Area
Underlying Physical
Constraints
Regeneration Impact
Little/No Profit and Limited
ROI
Central Government
Insurmountable
Infrastructure/ Enabling
Costs
Developments of National
Importance
Overriding
Economic/Housing Impact
overcoming Financial
Profit/ROI
Market Failure
Strong/Clear Market Demand
Development Market Uncertainty/Weakness
Increasing Level of Development Risk and Decreasing Market Demand
LeadActor/Investor
12. chilmarkconsulting.co.uk
6 Ha Industrial Site, South Coast
• South-coast brownfield industrial/marine site
• Estuary location and town centre
• Abnormals: listed structures; collapsing river wall; ground
contamination; protected ecology
• Contributions needed to: affordable housing, public
transport enhancements; office and marine industrial
floorspace
• 580 residential units + 9,000 sq.m commercial/leisure
floorspace
Reducing Development Risk through:
• Value engineering, development re-phasing and cashflow
profiling
• Securing pre-let and end occupiers for all commercial
floorspace
• Extensive residential mix and design testing
• Detailed 1st phase planning
• Positive support and allocation in emerging planning policy
• Fit to LEP economic growth sectors
14. chilmarkconsulting.co.uk
Conclusions
Aligning Brownfield Registers and Development Risks
• Fit/alignment to strategic policy, political and economic benefits
• Market demand and securing end users/occupiers
• Value engineering by:
– Testing and re-testing infrastructure and abnormal costs
– Testing and re-testing viability by phase and over
development lifetime
• Use of interim / temporary uses to generate value/cashflow
• Distinguishing marginal viability and need for public financial
support from the outset
• Taking long-term view
• How will Brownfield Land Registers really account for
development risks?
