Land available for development
As part of any local plan process, it is important to have a clear understanding of the land which is potentially available for different types of development. This includes housing, business, Gypsy and Traveller, and other types of development. It is also important to understand the green areas which are of particular importance to communities.
View promoted land
You can view where land has been promoted as being potentially available for development and where land has been nominated for consideration as a local green space below.
View our interactive map:
View the list of land promoted for potential development:
View the list of areas nominated for local green space:
The interactive map also allows you to view the proposed allocations set out in the current Revised Growth Strategy consultation, the Draft Local Plan (February 2020) and other information that may be of interest.
It should be noted that the act of promoting land as being available for development, or nominating an area for protection as local green space, does not alter the status of the land and there is no guarantee that the land will be found suitable for development or suitable for protection.
Assessment of land promoted as potentially available for development
All sites suggested to us are assessed for their potential for accommodating development.
Assessments are set out in a document called the The Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA). Assessments will be reviewed as a local plan progresses. The most recent assessments are those within the HELAA published in November 2021 which is available to view on the Revised Growth Strategy consultation page under 'Sites'. The HELAA includes all sites promoted between January 2016 and Autumn 2021. Sites submitted after this date will be included in later versions of the HELAA. The site list and map will be periodically updated to include newly promoted sites.
Land nominated for consideration as Local Green Space
National policy provides for an optional designation of Local Green Space. This allows communities to identify and protect green areas of particular importance to them. Areas must meet the criteria set out in national policy and designation must be through either a local plan or neighbourhood plan.
The Draft Local Plan (February 2020) proposed the designation of eight Local Green Spaces.
Following the Draft Local Plan consultation, the council wrote to town/parish councils and local amenity groups to ask whether they wished to nominate any additional areas. As a result, over 100 nominations were received. All nominated areas have been assessed against national planning policy/guidance and the council's assessment methodology. The methodology and most recent assessments are set out in the Local Green Spaces Topic Paper published in November 2021, which is available to view on the Revised Growth Strategy consultation page under 'Topic and position papers'.
Over 70 areas are proposed for designation as Local Green Space in the Revised Growth Strategy consultation and are shown on the interactive map.
Further opportunities are available for town/parish councils and local communities to suggest additional areas for Local Green Space designation by responding to the current Revised Growth Strategy consultation. Further details regarding the Revised Growth Strategy are available to view on the Revised Growth Strategy consultation page.
If you would like to nominate any additional areas for consideration in the local plan, please clearly identify the area of green space on a map and provide any relevant information explaining the importance of each area to your community. It is recommended following the methodology set out in the Local Green Space Topic Paper when undertaking the assessment.