A zoning loophole classifying backyard gardens as brownfields has opened the door for developers in England to tear down homes and rebuild flats and apartments, eating up the equivalent of nearly 3,000 soccer fields in the next decade.
"An increasingly solitary population, immigration, wealthy second home-owners and the general mania for house-buying are putting immense pressure on some areas of the country."
"One of the results is 'garden grabbing'. Developers buy a house with a generous garden, apply for planning permission to demolish the house and build either flats, or even a mini-estate in its place."
"This is happening because the law allows gardens to be classified as 'brownfield' sites, in the same category as former industrial and commercial property. Councils have targets to meet for new houses and for brownfield building - thus gardens are being lost."
"For the property developers, the motivations are obvious. Without the need for new roads or services, profit margins might be higher. And a dense development in an established suburb can be a safer bet than a genuine brownfield site."
Read the full story: One day all this will be multi-occupancy units
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Data reveals that NYC’s bet on congestion pricing has paid off
After almost two years of the program, reports show positive impacts on traffic and air quality and no disruptions to parking.
HUD modernizes 50-year-old manufactured housing framework
The Next Generation Manufactured Housing Action Plan establishes new energy-efficiency standards for manufactured homes, and new guidelines for anchoring them.
California voters weigh $11.25 billion housing bond
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Connecticut is turning landfills into green infrastructure
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Trump guts ‘win-win’ solar energy program for rural farmers
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FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
One Hundred Miles
County of Mendocino
planning NEXT
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Montrose County
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority