Surplus public sector land

The HCA works closely with the government and local authorities to develop surplus public sector land for new and affordable housing.

The government has set a target for 200,000 new homes to be developed on surplus public sector land by 2016. To support this target, we identify surplus land assets and advise on strategies for efficient transfers of land. We are developing new standards for housing on surplus public sector land, which will increase the number of affordable homes being developed, bring forward sites more quickly and ensure that design and environmental performance meets housing policy objectives.

Transferred sites

In 2005 English Partnerships purchased 96 hospital sites from NHS Estates in a landmark £320m deal. The redevelopment of these sites will deliver up to 14,000 homes, attract £1.9m in private sector investment, create 112,000 sq m of employment floor space and reclaim more than 320 hectares of brownfield land.

Other surplus land that has been recently released by public sector organisations includes Ministry of Defence sites at Aldershot and Chichester.

Register of Surplus Public Sector Land

We manage the Register of Surplus Public Sector Land on behalf of Communities and Local Government. The register provides participating public sector organisations with comprehensive information on the availability of surplus land throughout England. It also helps to ensure that wider government objectives, including housing needs and regional economic and housing strategies, are factored into land disposal decisions.

A wide cross-section of public sector organisations supply information to the register. Once the disposing agency has provided us with details of a site, there is a window of 40 working days during which public sector agencies and departments can identify new uses for the land. If the site can be used beneficially elsewhere in the public sector then it may be transferred at market value.

We encourage local authorities to use the register for assistance in developing Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessments. For access, please email TheRegister@hca.gsx.gov.uk

Public sector organisations that would like access to the register or need help to add a site to the register should email TheRegister@hca.gsx.gov.uk

Download the quarterly report

Every three months we publish a summary of site details from the Register of Surplus Public Sector Land.

For further information regarding any of the sites on this schedule, please contact the estates department of the originating body.

Smaller sites

To help maintain the momentum of house building and offer developers more flexible ways of working with us, we also manage the sale of smaller sites.

Last updated: 24 June 2010

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