Brownfield land in Dorset Council
Dorset Council has published 83 brownfield sites on its statutory land register — land the council itself has assessed as suitable for housing. Together they cover about 67.8 hectares with an estimated capacity of 2,691 dwellings.
Rank these sites with constraints netted off →
Largest sites on the Dorset Council register
| Site | Hectares | Max dwellings | Planning status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Former QinetiQ Site, Bincelaves | 4.80 | 195 | permissioned |
| Timber Vale Caravan Park | 4.23 | 72 | not yet |
| Alderholt Surplus Stores | 3.31 | 89 | permissioned |
| Blandford Brewery | 3.30 | 180 | permissioned |
| Westwey Road (South) | 2.90 | 90 | not yet |
| Verwood Industrial Estate | 2.30 | 83 | not yet |
| Swannary Car Park | 2.16 | 67 | not yet |
| Jubilee Sidings | 2.00 | 80 | not yet |
Source: Dorset Council brownfield land register, published via planning.data.gov.uk under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are the council’s own.
What a brownfield register actually is
Every local planning authority in England is required to keep a register of previously-developed land it considers appropriate for residential development. Part 1 lists all such sites; Part 2 sites carry permission in principle.
What it is not: an entry is not planning permission, and it is not an offer to sell. The council assessing a site as suitable says nothing about whether the owner wants to sell it or what a scheme would actually get approved. England has no zoning — the Local Plan and the Use Classes Order decide what is achievable.
The registers are public and free. They are underused mainly because each authority publishes its own separately, in its own format, so comparing more than one area by hand is painful.
Working the Dorset Council register properly
- Net off the constraints first. Green belt, Flood Zone 3 and listed buildings kill more register sites than anything else. Check before you fall in love with a line on a map.
- Treat the dwelling figure as the council’s opinion. 2,691 is what Dorset Council thinks the register could take — your scheme, your design and the Local Plan will move it.
- Price it off recorded sales. HM Land Registry Price Paid gives you what actually sold nearby; work the residual land value from there rather than from an asking price.
- Find the owner. Register sites are rarely advertised. Ownership status is listed, and Land Registry title records do the rest.
Questions this page answers
- Brownfield land register Dorset Council
- Development sites for sale Dorset Council
- How much brownfield land is there in Dorset Council?
- Where can I build houses in Dorset Council?
- Dorset Council land availability assessment
GoSiteHunt is an advertising and analysis platform, not a real estate agent or planning consultancy. Everything here is indicative screening from public data — not a valuation, not planning advice, and never a substitute for the council’s own records or your own professional advisers.