Understanding the Planning Challenges of Brownfield Development in Coastal Urban Areas of England

Coastal settlements, whether rooted in port, defence or tourism economies, have experienced considerable economic, social and environmental change over the last 30–40 years, which has often resulted in building obsolescence and vacant land. Brownfield sites, especially on the waterfront, are strategically valuable, but can be constrained by costs of treatment, the fragmentation of available plots, complex landownership and declining property values. This paper addresses the need for a better understanding of the characteristics of brownfield land in English coastal communities and the challenges faced by planning in the regeneration of these sites through an analysis of the National Land Use Database and a survey of Heads of Planning Service. There is a plentiful supply of brownfield sites on the coast, but one-fifth requires remedial treatment and over half is concentrated in the ‘coastal challenges’ cluster. Economic circumstances and frequent policy shifts have impeded the redevelopment of brownfield land on the coast and forced greater pressure onto greenfield sites.