The government’s £1.8bn investment to deliver 160,000 new homes on 15 hectares of currently dormant land has been labelled “insignificant” by Sirius Property Finance.

According to the real estate debt advisory specialist, the potential new homes that could be built on brownfield land would total a far greater £487bn worth of property across England alone.

Estimates from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government suggest there is 36,700 hectares of brownfield land across England, equivalent to over 51 million square metres.

With the average home requiring a plot of 275 square metres, Sirius calculated this is enough to deliver more than 1.3 million new homes – more than eight times the volume promised by the government – which would total around £487bn worth of property.

According to Sirius’ research, the South East is home to the largest brownfield house builder potential, with enough brownfield space to deliver 210,052 new homes, followed by the East of England (186,100) and the North West and West Midlands (179,071).

At 2,095 hectares, the North East is home to the lowest level of brownfield land although it would still be enough to deliver some 78,181 new homes.

Sirius Property Finance, managing director, Nicholas Christofi, commented: “There have long been calls to utilise brownfield land in order to address the current housing crisis and so many will have warmly welcomed the government’s decision to finally do so.

“However, it’s fair to say that the development of 1,500 hectares is really just the tip of the iceberg when viewed against the wider context of just how much brownfield land there is.

“Redeveloping brownfield land requires additional time, resources and budget and so it might not be the primary focus for many house builders. But it does present a wealth of potential and not only could it help significantly boost housing stock levels, but the value of this stock in current market conditions would be substantial.”

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