COTSWOLD MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown has welcomed news that the Government will be providing funding to help local councils build on brownfield sites.

The policy, which was announced this month, aims to preserve greenfield sites by building on previously-developed brownfield land to deliver up to 200,000 planning permissions for new homes across the country.

The Government is asking councils to put in place local development orders which can provide brownfield sites with outline planning permission to speed up the building of new homes, and is making a £5 million funding pot available to help local planning authorities create the first 100 sites with local development orders.

Mr Clifton-Brown said: “As planning in the Cotswolds has always been extremely tight, not least of which because of the AONB, we do not have that many brownfield sites. However for those that we do have, such as Tetbury, this scheme is welcome news. It is infinitely better to build on brownfield or previously used land, than to keep using significant areas of productive agricultural land.

“A prime example of this is the new estate which I visited in Upper Rissington, which will provide not only quality designed houses, but also a new school, for which I turned the first turf, a new shop, a connection to mains gas as well as efficient water and sewerage systems for the existing houses in Upper Rissington.

“I will strongly encourage Cotswold District Council to take up the scheme wherever opportunities exist. ”