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Browse 5 cases in the Planning Geek Case Law Library concerning Previously developed land.
Dartford is a Court of Appeal authority on the NPPF definition of previously developed land. Under the wording then in force, private residential gardens were excluded only where they were in built-up areas. A residential curtilage in the countryside could therefore fall within brownfield land if the rest of the definition was met.
Turner is a Court of Appeal authority on Green Belt openness. Openness is not a simple volume calculation. A decision-maker may compare permanence, spatial effect, built form and visual impact when deciding whether redevelopment would have a greater impact on openness than the existing lawful use.
Lochailort Kentford is a 2026 Planning Court case on the Brownfield Land Register and Local Plan allocation. It confirms that inclusion of part of a site in Part 1 of the Register as suitable for residential development does not mean the council must allocate the wider site for housing in its Local Plan.
Ribble Valley applies Lee Valley to a mixed equestrian site in the Green Belt, holding that an Inspector could not lawfully treat the whole 5.68 hectare site as previously developed land without analysing the developed and undeveloped parts.
Lee Valley is an important High Court authority on previously developed land in the Green Belt, mixed sites and the need to analyse openness and very special circumstances properly rather than treating an entire site as brownfield simply because part of it is developed.
