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Backing brownfield: New funding for our LandWise project
Exciting news! CPRE Gloucestershire has been awarded £16,500 from the National Lottery Community Fund, alongside £2,576 from The Summerfield Charitable Trust, to launch LandWise – a new volunteer-led project that will champion brownfield land in development decisions.
With increasing pressure to meet development targets, Gloucestershire’s countryside and green spaces are under threat. LandWise responds to this challenge by championing a brownfield‑first approach – encouraging development on previously used land before building on precious rural and greenfield sites.
Our evidence shows just how important this is. CPRE’s State of Brownfield 2025 report reveals there is enough brownfield land across England to support at least 1.41 million homes, an increase of 16% in just one year. More than half of these homes already have planning permission – yet brownfield land continues to be under‑used, while pressure on the countryside grows.
About the project: Why we’re doing it
LandWise will harness local knowledge to uncover overlooked and unregistered brownfield sites across Gloucestershire. Using a dedicated volunteer toolkit, submissions from communities will be carefully reviewed and compiled into a county‑wide database and digital map.
This collated evidence will be shared with local authorities to support more informed, sustainable planning decisions and to help ensure previously developed land is properly considered.
The project responds directly to national findings showing that nearly 40% of local planning authorities lack an up‑to‑date brownfield register, with almost one in ten not updated for more than five years. By capturing local insight, LandWise aims to close this evidence gap and strengthen the case for brownfield‑first development.
By uncovering and promoting brownfield opportunities, LandWise will:
- Bring neglected land back into productive use
- Champion sustainable development where infrastructure already exists
- Empower communities with greater confidence, knowledge, and influence in planning
- Help reduce pressure on Gloucestershire’s countryside and green spaces
Get involved and find out more
We’re now recruiting volunteers to be part of this important project. If you’d like to help stand up for Gloucestershire’s countryside and support smarter, more sustainable development, we’d love to hear from you.
Visit our project page to learn more and register:
You can also contact our Project Manager, Eve, directly: eve@cpreglos.org.uk
Thanks to our funders
We extend our heartfelt thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund and The Summerfield Charitable Trust for their generous support in making LandWise possible.
