'This will not get housing built!!' Or will it?
Is nearly £20k of public cash about to be wasted or well spent? A plan to push Gloucestershire councils to drive development onto brownfields sites reveals the simmering tensions around housebuilding.
Dear reader,
You don’t really want to knock a well-intentioned idea like the Council for the Preservation of Rural England Gloucestershire’s (CPRE) attempt to create a comprehensive brownfield database for Gloucestershire in the hope it helps save our countryside and allow development at the same time, but when it’s public money being spent it’s worth asking a few questions.
The inference from the county branch of the CPRE being that if our local authorities in charge of our planning and strategic planning have such a list of brownfield sites already it’s not good enough. Or at least something is not working as well as they think it can.
Pressure to build is enormous. Where to build is often contentious. That people deserve somewhere to live highly emotive. As is protecting the countryside. Even that’s simplifying it.
When we started asking questions it didn’t take long to sense the immense pressure and tension around this particular story.
Local authorities were decidedly considered in their response. Like they had to bite their tongue.
We stepped away for in independent view and asked David Evans of Cheltenham-headquartered Evans Jones chartered surveyors and planning consultants what he thought.
Evans has spent a long career advising on planning matters and is one of the many trying to encourage reform of the planning system, something also promised by our current Government.
‘Would the project help get more houses built where we want them?’, we asked.
You can read his response is below.
If I have ever felt like I’ve asked a stupid question, this was it!
Have you ever started something that sounds positive, done so with good intentions, and suspect you have upset everyone?!
Have a great weekend.
Best regards,
Editor | 07956 926061 | LinkedIn: Andrew Merrell | andrew.merrell@raikesjournal.co.uk
This weekend and further ahead…
Friday (today):
Panels of experts from agriculture and business and landowners line up for question-time panels at the Royal Three Counties Show from Business networking too. Plenty of networking events as well. Running tomorrow and Sunday too. More here.
Saturday:
Friends of Cheltenham Samaritans 1st Wine Festival at Pip & Jims, Cheltenham, from 7pm. More here.
Corinium Ales brewery tour and tasting from 1.30pm to 3pm. More here.
Sunday:
Stroud Arts Festival 80th Celebrations: Opera is for Everyone. Free. 2pm and 3.30pm. Booking needed. More here.
Your briefing notes…
💶 Cheltenham’s John Lewis department store, the 180,000 square foot site fronting the town’s high street, is up for sale for £22 million. London-based property investment and management firm Dukeminster has put the building up for sale through agents Knight Frank. John Lewis has more than 16 years remaining on its lease term, which delivers a total rent of £1,879,764 per annum.
👩🏽💻A new Youth Advisory Board is being established to ensure that young people play a direct role in shaping the future of Golden Valley, the nationally significant cyber, AI, secure communications and emerging technology development soon to get underway in Cheltenham, according to a press release from the University of Gloucestershire. More here.
🛬 A pilot school based at Gloucestershire Airport that trains staff for some of the world’s biggest airlines has announced a new ‘accessible’ course in its bid to open the door to more people into the high-flying profession. Skyborne’s Fly First pathway is described as a modular training pathway that begins with practical flight experience from day one. The business has its headquarters in Staverton. Cost of the programme is £67,900. More here.
⚖️ WSP Solicitors has announced the expansion of its commercial property and child law teams with the appointments of senior associate David Ashcroft and associate solicitor Jessica O’Shea. The appointments are said to be part of the firm’s strategic growth plan driven by demand for its services. Ashcroft joins the commercial team, bringing with him over 40 years of experience. O’Shea has 13 years’ experience and is a Child Panel-accredited solicitor skilled at representing children in legal proceedings.
🎉 Award-winning Cheltenham-based public relations agency, HeadOn PR, has appointed Amy Broadbent as an account executive in response to growing demand for AI search and digital PR services. Broadbent, 24, joins from national coffee brand SOHO Coffee, where she was PR, social media and community executive.
Congratulations to these three…
We like to keep up on news of our sponsors too, so here’s some…. We wanted to make a point of congratulating the family law team at Cheltenham-headquartered Willans LLP solicitors, which now has three qualified practitioners in Resolution Together.
Family lawyers Jonathan Eager and Kristie Silsby have just completed their specialist training in the Resolution Together model and join partner and head of family law Sharon Giles, who was among the first lawyers in the region to qualify.
The Resolution Together process was developed by Resolution, the national organisation for family justice professionals, to allow separating couples the chance to get legal advice and support jointly from one specially trained lawyer, helping them make informed decisions about arrangements for finances, property and children.
Eager said: “Many couples want to separate amicably and find practical solutions without the stress, delay and expense that can sometimes arise when matters become adversarial.
“It can be particularly effective where there is a shared desire to maintain a positive relationship going forward, especially when children are involved.”
You can read the full story here: Willans strengthens commitment to collaborative divorce with three Resolution Together-qualified family lawyers
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‘This will not get housing built!!’ Or will it?
Is nearly £20k of public cash about to be wasted or well spent? A plan to push Gloucestershire councils to drive development onto brownfields sites reveals the simmering tensions around housebuilding.
Nearly £20,000 of Lottery funding has been awarded to a Gloucestershire charity to help it try to influence the development in the county and drive it away from greenfield towards brownfield sites.
CPRE Gloucestershire, the local group of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), has been awarded £16,500 from the National Lottery Community Fund together with £2,576 from the county-based Summerfield Charitable Trust to create a database it hopes will inform planning decisions.
The CPRE said the database, called LandWise, will be “ambitious” and “give communities a stronger voice in shaping development across the county”.
But the scheme received a decidedly cool response from councils which control planning in the county when we asked them about it.
It comes at a time of high tension around housebuilding across Gloucestershire, with local authorities under increasing pressure from central government to build thousands of homes and public disapproval surfacing at almost every turn.
The implication from the CPRE is clear – it believes more could be done to avoid greenfield development and brownfield is part of the solution.
It also states clearly that whatever councils are doing now in this respect, they are failing. Which probably explains the response we got.
Louise Chandler-Mullins, director of CPRE Gloucestershire, said: “We know how much people in Gloucestershire care about our countryside, and our LandWise project will give that care and passion a practical outlet.
“It’s a way for communities to get involved and advocate for the future of our countryside.
“There is untapped potential of brownfield sites across the county that could play a much bigger role in meeting development needs.
“LandWise will help collate that evidence into one place, so it can be properly considered in key development decisions.”
According to the CPRE, “by capturing local knowledge LandWise advocates to close this evidence gap and ensure development decisions are based on the fullest possible picture of available land”.
As we said, we we put it to the councils, it seems to have touched a nerve.
Cheltenham Borough Council sent us a response only to withdraw it and replace it with a joint comment from itself, Gloucester city, and Tewkesbury Borough Council.
Alistair Cunningham, chief executive for Tewkesbury Borough Council and senior responsible owner for the strategic and local plan (speaking on behalf of all three councils named above), said: “Whilst we recognise the valuable role that campaigning organisations play in highlighting land availability and potential sites, any externally produced list would need to be carefully checked for accuracy and consistency before it could be reviewed as part of the strategic and local plan.”
He added: “We aim to support sustainable development and make the best use of previously developed or brownfield land, in line with national policy.
“As part of the emerging strategic and local plan (SLP), the councils have undertaken an urban capacity study.
“Urban capacity studies do more than is included in a brownfield register and give a more detailed understanding of the capacity for housing in our urban areas.
“Planning decisions must always be based on clear evidence, including whether sites are suitable, achievable, and right for the area, its residents, the environment and the local economy.”
According to the CPRE’s State of Brownfield 2025 report there are enough brownfield land across England to support at least 1.41 million homes, a figure it says has increased by 16 per cent in just one year.
It claims more than half of these homes (around 770,000 nationally) already have planning permission, but “despite this brownfield land is still being underused nationally too, while pressure continues to mount on greenfield and rural sites”.
Cotswold District Council has been actively resisting the Government-imposed housing target of 18,650 new homes by 2043 on its patch of Gloucestershire, but it is now reluctantly updating its local plan to accommodate.
Cllr Juliet Layton, the district council’s cabinet member for housing and planning said: “When considering sites for development, the council follows the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which emphasises the importance of prioritising previously developed (brownfield) land.
“The council publishes annual updates to its Brownfield Land Register, which is available on our website. Work is currently underway on the 2026 update.
“However, under the Government’s revised standard method, the council must plan for 18,650 homes over 18 years (just over 1,000 annually).
“Due to the rural nature of the district, with 80 per cent of land in the National Landscape (areas in the UK formerly known as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty), there is a limited supply of available brownfield sites.
“The council will, therefore, consider all sites which might be suitable for development. Sites with the highest ecological sensitivity are screened out early.
“Recognising the Cotswold district’s renowned landscape, the local plan is being updated to ensure new homes are built in the right places and supported by the infrastructure they need.
“The plan will be reviewed by the council’s biodiversity team to ensure nature recovery is a key priority, including better green spaces and habitat protection.
“The Gloucestershire Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS), approved by the council in March, will help identify opportunities to improve habitats and create new ones. This will guide developers to contribute to nature recovery across the county.”
A Stroud District Council spokesperson said it also already “applied a brownfield‑first approach to housing delivery and site identification, consistent with national planning policy”.
“In preparing and implementing its local plan, the council seeks to prioritise the reuse of previously developed land wherever it is available, suitable and deliverable, before considering the release of greenfield sites,” said the statement.
“In support of this approach, the council maintains an up‑to‑date Brownfield Land Register, which is reviewed and published in line with the regulations.
“The most recent update was published in December 2025, and it continues to be used as part of the council’s evidence base to inform plan‑making and decision‑taking. The council will provide a further update in December 2026.
“However, as is typical for a predominantly rural district such as Stroud, the availability and capacity of brownfield land iarelimited, and it is not sufficient on its own to meet the district’s government-set housing needs.
“As a result, the council’s strategy necessarily takes a balanced approach.”
It underlined its case by pointing to a project it unveiled just last month – the repurposing of a brownfield site for 13 new homes for social rent at Cambridge Avenue in Dursley (see below).
Forest of Dean District told us it too already maintains an up-to-date Brownfield Land Register, a register it reviews and publishes yearly on its website and uses to form part of the evidence used to inform planning policy and decision-making.
“The register is kept under review alongside our Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment and Sustainability Appraisal and is used to inform work on the emerging local plan,” said a statement from the Five Valleys’ district council.
“It helps identify previously developed land that may have potential for redevelopment, but it does not in itself determine where development will take place.”
Nevertheless, the CPRE plans to create “a comprehensive county-wide database and digital map of unregistered brownfield sites”; it will then share it with local authorities “to support sustainable planning decisions and encourage greater prioritisation of previously developed land”.
One wonders how different the two local authority and CPRE lists will be. The CPRE is adamant its will add to the data and explains its thinking as follows.
“The project responds directly to national findings that nearly 40 per cent of local planning authorities do not have up-to-date brownfield registers, with almost one in 10 not updated for over five years,” said the CPRE.
“By capturing local knowledge, LandWise advocates to close this evidence gap and ensure development decisions are based on the fullest possible picture of available land.”
Keen for some insight from someone who knows the planning system well and could help us understand whether any of this really will be helpful and result in more homes being built in the right places we turned to David Jones, of property surveyors Evans Jones.
His note back was short, and it looks like we touched a nerve there too. And he is a man passionate about making the planning system work better.
“Having another brownfield land register will not get housing built!!” he said.
The exclamation marks are his.