Proactive steps to progress derelict sites
Telford & Wrekin Council is taking proactive steps to work with owners of stalled sites such as derelict pubs to bring them forward for development.
The borough is committing £100,000 to ensure such sites are kept as tidy as possible to reduce the visual impact on local communities and to work with site owners/developers to prepare sites for the market.
The investment is part of a number of one off announcements totaling £3.6m, which have been made possible by changes to the council’s finances and a one off tax rebate.
The council has written to the owners of a number of stalled sites around Telford to express concerns that they have laid vacant, in some instances for a number of years.
Where appropriate, the council has been using enforcement powers across the borough to ensure that issues of “untidy” land are dealt with appropriately.
In addition the council is taking a proactive approach to moving these sites forward through promotion of a £3m Brownfield Land Development Fund.
This exists to assist owners of sites in Telford & Wrekin where progress has stalled for reasons of viability.
Applicants can apply to the Brownfield Land Development Fund to help secure grants to address abnormal costs such as ground conditions or demolition works that are consequently preventing sites from being developed. Further details of the Fund are available at www.telford.gov.uk/brownfieldlandfund
The Council is also offering assistance with preparing development briefs for sites providing developers with more certainty when planning the future of a site and working with site owners to prepare and present sites for the market.
Councillor Richard Overton, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for Housing and Enforcement, said: “We recognise that these sites have a continuing visual impact on local areas and we are working to ensure that until developed, they are left in as acceptable a state as is feasible.
“For a number of sites, the council has sought information from developers around their delivery timetables to better understand when sites are expected to be built.
“In instances where sites have stalled, the council takes an open approach and welcomes engagement with developers in order to bring sites forward.”
