Dover to pilot register of brownfield sites

Dover District Council has been selected as one of 73 local authorities in England, and the only one in East Kent, to take part in a pilot Government scheme to develop a register of brownfield development sites. The Council secured £10,000 from the Brownfield Register Pilots Fund.

The funding is being used to create a register of brownfield sites throughout the district with potential for housing and employment use. This will include a call to landowners for new brownfield sites, and assisting the Government with preparing criteria for assessing the suitability of brownfield sites. The Brownfield Site Register will be completed in July and published and promoted on both the Dover District Council and Invest in Dover websites.

Cllr Paul Watkins, Leader of Dover District Council, said: "Our aim is always to seek to develop brownfield sites as a first step. Many of the key housing developments in our Core Strategy involve the development of brownfield sites, such as the former Buckland Paper Mill and Connaught Barracks.

"As a pilot authority, the funding will help us to develop a comprehensive register of brownfield sites that can be marketed as part of the wider regeneration plans that are now starting to take shape across the district."