Brownfield development: Is it good for Norfolk cities?

Since the late 1990s, successive British governments have been trying to get more homes built on brownfield sites.

Touted as the antidote to “urban sprawl”, old offices, factories, bingo halls, and car parks are being redeveloped into homes, providing an alternative to building on green spaces.

But while there are some success stories - see Rose Lane in Norwich and Ipswich Waterfront - the government has struggled to get developers as excited as they’d like about purchasing brownfield sites.

Ipswich waterfront is a good example of a successful Brownfield redevelopment (Image: Newsquest)

More than 12.3 hectares of this type of land is still waiting to be utilised in the UK - that’s about 55pc of all sites with brownfield status.

In Norfolk alone local authorities have earmarked at least 350 locations that could be redeveloped to support five or more homes, with hundreds more identified across Suffolk.

So why, despite the ample supply and apparent benefits of these sites, are we seeing such slow progress?

‘WE DON’T HAVE CARTOON WRECKING BALLS’

Guy Gowing, managing partner at Arnolds Keys in Norwich, said it's down to two things: cost and planning laws.

Guy Gowing, managing partner at Arnolds Keys (Image: Arnolds Keys)

“Contamination is a big issue and can be a pain to clean up, and because of their history a lot of these sites require a lot of attention in this respect.

“Take a site like Victoria House in Norwich, for example. Before it was the Marsh Insurance offices it was a railway goods yard, so if it wasn’t properly cleaned up when it was last redeveloped there’ll be work to do there.

“Demolition is an issue too - it's not like in the cartoons where you can just bring in a giant wrecking ball and jobs done.

“It’s expensive and there’s a big push to re-use the building materials, which complicates things.”

Victoria House in Norwich has been billed by its owner as a fantastic Brownfield opportunity (Image: Newsquest)

MP for Great Yarmouth and former housing minister, Brandan Lewis, agreed that the cost of redeveloping brownfield sites was discouraging housebuilders, especially given the simplicity of the alternative.

He said: “For all their advantages, brownfield sites are often much more expensive to develop than greenfield equivalents. 

“Decontaminating polluted land, restoring heritage buildings, installing new infrastructure, and navigating through a constrained and congested urban environment all take time, and add costs not faced by developers who simply send the diggers into a field.”

But the lack of redevelopment isn’t all down to reluctant housebuilders.

Local authorities have been criticised for their unwillingness to grant planning permission for these kinds of projects, with concerns over building quality and protecting "local heritage” often hindering the process.

The former Start-Rite factory, before demolition (Image: Archant) (Image: Newsquest)

Planning officers rejected plans to redevelop the former Start-rite shoe factory in Norwich because they felt the “scale and density of development” would “harm the character of the local area”.

Tom Fyans, the interim chief executive of CPRE, said: “You know the system is broken when hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people and families are on social housing waiting lists, many in rural areas.

“Meanwhile, across the country, tens of thousands of hectares of prime brownfield sites are sitting there waiting to be redeveloped.”

Last month, the government announced proposed changes to planning laws that would force councils to approve development on brownfield land unless they can offer a good reason why they can’t.

New homes being built at Acle (Image: Mike Page) (Image: Mike Page)

Limits would also be removed on the kinds of former commercial buildings that can be turned into flats, removing restrictions on how big the building can be before a developer has to apply for planning permission.

Supporters have celebrated the move as a positive step towards mitigating the house crisis, but experts warn it could have unintended consequences.

THE EVOLUTION OF CITIES

Last month, the owner of the former Marsh Insurance building in Norwich, Adam Zive, described the site as “an exceptional brownfield redevelopment opportunity”, hinting it could be developed into homes.

With excellent road links and a desirable location close to the city centre, there are worse places to build homes. 

But Mr Gowing said that although housing is desperately needed, replacing urban offices with homes could have a knock-on effect on retail businesses. 

Former BT offices, on Bibb Way, Ipswich, are set to be turned into more than 100 luxury apartments. (Image: News Quest) (Image: Newsquest)

He said: “It’s very trendy for politicians to talk about brownfield sites because it doesn’t add to the footprint of cities, and generally speaking, is more environmentally friendly.

“The big issue comes when this starts to eat away at the available office space in city centres. 

“Urban areas need to keep a well-established office core to secure the viability of the city, because workers contribute a huge amount to the retail economy.

“They go shopping at lunchtime, support local cafes, shops - city centres suffer when you remove that, as we saw during Covid.

“Residential dwellings can provide a different kind of boost, but it won’t help with those impulse buys that we see from office workers.”

READ MORE: Why we will see yet MORE offices turned into flats

However, with so many former offices now empty - fuelled by the move towards hybrid working during the pandemic - he added that removing the over-supply of commercial buildings was a net positive for the market.

Is redeveloping Brownfield sites the key to overcoming urban sprawl? (Image: Newsquest)

He said: “The bottom line is that when you have a redundant site and its use is no longer appropriate then this type of redevelopment should be encouraged.

“We need to meet future housing needs, and this not only makes more sense than continuing to expand, but also gets people into pre-existing communities with the amenities they need, without the need to start from scratch.”

WHICH OFFICES HAVE BEEN CONVERTED? 

Former Stationery Office, St Crispins House, Duke Street, Norwich; converted into 684-bed student accommodation block in 2023;

Former Debenhams building, Orford Pl, Norwich; plans submitted to convert into 400 student flats;

Former Eastern Electricity Board site at Duke's Wharf, Norwich; plans submitted to convert into 700 student flats;

Foxwood House, Kesgrave; approval given to convert into six flats in 2022;

Former BT offices, Bibb Way, Ipswich; converted to 80 flats in 2022;

Former Mid Suffolk District Council building, Needham Market; converted into homes in 2021;

Former Blomfield House Health Centre, Bury St Edmunds; converted into flats in 2021;

Castle House, Castle Street, Norwich; converted into 23 apartments in 2021;

Haven House, Lower Brook Street, Ipswich; approval given in 2021 to turn into 49 homes;

Former tribunal offices Skipper House, Ber Street, Norwich; converted into 45 flats in 2018;

Former Aviva building, St Stephens, Norwich; converted into 700 student flats in 2018;

Former Aviva building Imperial House, Rose Lane, Norwich; converted into luxury flats in 2016;

Westlegate Tower, Norwich; converted into 17 luxury flats in 2014.

WHAT IS BROWNFIELD?

Simply put, brownfield land refers to any piece of land which has previously been developed but is no longer in use.

This could include old office and factory buildings or car parks, for example.

In policy terms, brownfield land is defined in the National Planning Policy Framework as land which is or was occupied by a permanent structure.

There are some exceptions.

Land that has been developed for minerals extraction or waste disposal by landfill, residential gardens, parks, recreation grounds, and allotments’ are all excluded.

Sites that were previously developed but "where the remains of the permanent structure has blended into the landscape" are also except.