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Greenfield And
Brownfield Sites
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Brownfield
Land that has already
been built upon
Greenfield Or Brownfield Development?
Greenfield
Land that hasnt been
built upon before
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4.4 million new dwellings are needed between 1991
and 2016.
Why do you think so many new houses are needed?
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Why Is There A Need For More
Housing In The UK?
70 % of new homes are
wanted by single people
The population of the UK will
keep rising until 2036
580000
600000
620000
640000
660000
680000
700000
720000
740000
1997
babies born
people died
UK
Are there any alternatives to building more houses?
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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 availableMr 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?
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Summarise the advantages and disadvantages of
developing new homes on greenfield sites compared to
using brownfield sites.
Consider the following issues:
the cost of building new homes?
the need for
new roads?
impact on the drainage
basin cycle and flooding?
impact on congestion?
the impact on derelict
land in the inner city?
(there is over 300
square km of derelict
land in England)
impact on the countryside?
increase urban sprawl?
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Designated major housing developments in
Cambridgeshire
1
2
3
4
6
5
7
8
Cambourne
Greenbelt
Cambridge
2 Proposed housing developments
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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 1994.
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.
Cambourne Greenfield development
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Cambourne
Cambourne is built on a greenfield site
(land that hasnt previously been built upon).
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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.
Cambourne
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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)
Cambourne
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Great Cambourne
Describe the type of housing found in Great Cambourne.
Cambourne
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Activity 1
It is proposed that 1000 new homes are to be
built in, or around your local town/city...

1. Describe why developers would prefer to build
most, or all, of the new houses on Greenfield Sites.
2. Suggest some problems and conflicts that might
result from the increased use of rural areas for
leisure and recreation.
3. Describe why conservation groups and people living
in nearby villages want the new houses to be built
on Brownfield Sites.