Vacant Building Credit (VBC) | Shropshire Council

The purpose of the VBC is to incentivise brownfield development, including the reuse or redevelopment of empty and redundant buildings.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) provides a definition of ‘Previously Developed Land’ as being “land which is or was occupied by a permanent structure, including the curtilage of the developed land (although it should not be assumed that the whole of the curtilage should be developed) and any associated fixed surface infrastructure. This excludes land that is or has been occupied by agricultural or forestry buildings; land that has been developed for minerals extraction or waste disposal by landfill purposes where provision for restoration has been made through development control procedures; land in built up areas such as private residential gardens, parks, recreation grounds and allotments; and land that was previously developed but where the remains of the permanent structure or fixed surface structure have blended into the landscape in the process of time”. This definition will be applied to requests for VBC.

In addition, the VBC will not be applied in the following instances:

Where the building has been abandoned and/or has been demolished at some date prior to the application being validated
Where the building has been made vacant for the sole purposes of redevelopment
Where the building is covered by an extant or recently expired planning permission for the same or substantially the same development
Where the building or site has been purchased for redevelopment. In these cases the land or building may be technically ‘vacant’ for a period of time whilst plans for its re use are being drawn up and approved and therefore this is a normal part of redevelopment process and materially different from a site that has sat used and abandoned for many years. In such instances, VBC will not be applied in this instance as it would simply be used as a device to reduce the amount of affordable housing requirements, without this being offset against the wider public benefits deriving from redevelopment of a vacant site
VBC will not be applied in instances where a landowner undertakes a rationalisation of their land assets and seeks to dispose of their land. In such cases where land is marketed for its current use, or residential use with the caveat that this would be subject to planning permission and the offer to purchase is often conditional on securing planning permission for change of use
To qualify as ‘vacant’, applications will need to show that the building has not been in continuous use within the preceding year from the day the planning application is validated. Evidence such as council tax or rates records may be required to determine whether or not a building is vacant
There is an expectation that the whole physical building is vacant and not part of the building to enable VBC to be applied. One example would be the floor area above shops and offices

The Housing Enabling and Development Officer should be consulted prior to the submission of any planning application where VBC will be sought.