Bellway, Countryside, George Wimpey, Crest Nicholson and Urban Splash are among 22 developers who have been chosen by English Partnerships to take part in a pilot programme aimed at bringing brownfield sites back into use. The programme, which is a joint ODPM-EP initiative being run across 14 local authorities in England, is part of the government’s National Brownfield Strategy, aimed at re-using 64,000ha (158,000acres) of brownfield land. Professor Paul Syms, EP’s national brownfield strategy director, said: “We have had an excellent response from developers who have shown a strong commitment to being part of this programme. These developers will now play a major role in helping local authorities and local people transform some of the country’s worst eyesores. We expect the pilot programme to provide a focus for the long-term effective re-use of the country’s brownfield ‘legacy’.”