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In terms of ownership, private owners own 55% of the brownfield sites
              in the UK, whereas public sector bodies, including central government but
              excluding local authorities, own 14% and local authorities own 10% (Figure 27).
              In other words, brownfield sites in the UK are mostly vacant and much less
              concentrated in private ownership. Both of these characteristics could possibly
              lead to an easier process of brownfield development, which are both sorely
              missing in the case for Hong Kong.

              Figure 27. Ownership of brownfield in the United Kingdom







                                        21%
                                        21%


                        55%
                                            10%
                       55%                  10%

                                         14%
                                         14%
                                                                  Private
                                                                  Unknown
                                                                  Other Public
                                                                  Local Authority

               Source:    UK National Land Use Database 2010.

                     Furthermore, while UK has committed in 1998 to the “Brownfield First”
              Principle, setting a national target of building 60% of new housing on brownfield
              sites, this policy has apparently lent little help to alleviating the chronic problem
              of housing shortage in the UK. In May 2014, independent urban planning con-
              sultancy Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners (NLP) published a research note on the
              housing capacity of brownfield sites in the UK.


                     NLP estimated in the study that, while the UK would need up to
              3.3 million new homes from 2015 to 2030 (15 years), total housing capacity of
              brownfield sites is only 1 million. In other words, if only brownfield sites are used
              for housing purpose, the country would see, on top of the shortage that it is
              already faced with, an additional shortfall of 2.3 million homes in the next 15
              years (Figure 28).

              Figure 28. Total housing capacity in the United Kingdom




                             Total housing
                             capacity of
                             brownfield
                             sites
                             (1 million) 30%
                                             Shortfall if only
                                             brownfield sites
                                             are used
                                             (2.3 million)
                                             70%






              UK - Total housing capacity required up to 2030 : 3.3 million homes
               Source:   'Brownfield Land Solution?', Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners (May 2014).
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