Brownfield register

The Housing & Planning Act 2016 and the Town & Country Planning (Brownfield Land Register) Regulations 2017 make provision for local authorities to hold register of land known as Brownfield Land Register. This holds details of all potential sites in the borough considered suitable for housing-led development and are previously developed, whether in urban or Green Belt areas.

The definition of previously developed land can be found in Annex 2 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)

The Brownfield Land Register Regulations require that entries in the Register must be reviewed at least once year and Runnymede Borough Council have updated their Register for 2022.

To update the sites contained within the register for 2023 the Council is now undertaking call for brownfield sites. If you wish to submit site for inclusion in the Register you should do so by completing the site proforma below and submitting it to planningpolicy@runnymede.gov.uk by no later than Friday 1 December 2023. The site will then be considered for inclusion in the Register with the aim for publication in early 2024.

Site Pro forma Brownfield Register

To qualify for the Brownfield Register sites must be

  • within the local authority area (for this Register the Borough of Runnymede); and
  • the site has an area of at least 0.25ha or is capable of supporting at least 5 dwellings; and
  • the land is suitable, available and achievable for residential development (smaller sites may also be acceptable where they meet these criteria)

The Regulations also set out that Brownfield Registers must be kept in two parts. Part 1 which is list of all previously developed land with potential for housing led development and Part 2, which can include sites which will automatically be granted Permission in Principle (PiP) subject to consultation.

The Council will consider whether brownfield site should be listed in Part 1 or Part 2 of the Register, however, in terms of Part 2 the Borough faces number of constraints which includes:

  • Avoidance for the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area; and
  • Flood Risk

As there is no mechanism at Permission in Principle stage to secure conditions or planning obligations and the suitability of site also depends upon its impact on the built environment and amenity. The Council may not list any site within Part 2 of the 2022 Brownfield Land Register, although this will be considered on case-by-case basis in future iterations.

A copy of the 2022 Brownfield Register in Excel CSV is available to view below

The Brownfield Land Register 2022 sites can also be viewed as layer on our mapping service. To view the layer, choose 'Environment & Planning', then 'Other Layers' from the menu on the left of the mapping system.

An INSPIRE compliant polygon format of the Brownfield Register 2022 is available to view on the data.gov website which can be found 

Any questions about the pilot Brownfield Register should be directed to officers in the council's Policy and Strategy team at planningpolicy@runnymede.gov.uk or 01932 838383

Get in touch about planning policy

The quickest way to contact us is by using our online forms which are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you need to speak to us give us a call during office hours and talk to our Customer Services team who will be happy to help.