New dwellings built on previously developed land

• 77% of all new and converted dwellings in the UK were built on previously developed land in 2009, a slight reduction on 77% in 2008.

• In the South West this is slightly lower at 64 in 2009, down on high of 71% in 2008.

The South West Regional Spatial Strategy seeks to achieve at least 50% of new housing development on previously development land (PDL), including the conversion of existing buildings.

This figure is lower than that identified for England as a whole by Planning Policy Statement 3, which aims to reach a national target of more than 60% of all new dwellings on PDL. This reflects the relatively low availability of PDL in the South West.

All County and Unitary Authorities within the region achieved a land recycling rate above the RPG 50% target, during 2007/08, compared with 75% in the period 2004/05 (SWRA 2008).

From all the County and Unitary Authorities within the South West, all bar 8 authorities managed to achieve the 50% target between 2006-2009. Of those achieving over 50%, 4 Authorities managed to achieve over 90% for the same period.

Since 1997 the South West has seen a steady increase in the reuse of land for development.

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