Identifying sites for local plans: stage 1
Draft guidance to help you understand how to identify potential sites in your area for development, including the size and type of sites you’ll need.
Applies to England
For plans under the legacy plan-making system
If you are submitting your plan under the legacy system, use the create or update a local plan legacy system guidance.
The legacy system covers plans to be adopted under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, excluding the amendments made by the LURA, and The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012.
It is essential you carry out a thorough audit of available land in your area. This is to make sure you identify a sufficient range and quantity of potential sites to be assessed later in the process. It will also allow you to arrive at the best possible outcomes for your local area.
Demonstrating you have carried out a thorough site identification process is an important part of your sites evidence base. The number of sites you identify should not be constrained by the need for development in your area.
Aim of stage 1
This section helps you:
- understand how to identify a range of potential sites in your local area
- consider the size and type of sites you might need
- know where to look for these sites
Output of stage 1
You will have a list of sites with potential for development in your area that will be assessed in stage 2.
Finding potential sites
Start by proactively identifying sites yourself from existing sources such as those set out in this section. As part of this consider if there are sites that have the potential for improvement, intensification or change. As your aim is identifying potential sites for further assessment, you do not need to consider any constraints on land or development at this stage.
Record any relevant information on these sites that may help you when you assess the sites in Stages 2 and 3. The section in this guide on running a call for sites sets out the type of information you may find useful
Potential sources of sites include:
- allocations in current local and neighbourhood plans
- the brownfield land register
- planning applications - permissions and previous refusals
- pre-application submissions - in agreement with developers
- current or previous land availability assessments
- land owned by the local authority and other public bodies in consultation
- new or previous capacity or intensification assessments
- vacant and derelict land and buildings
- land in alternative use that may be suitable for re-development, such as commercial buildings or car parks
- opportunities to intensify uses or redevelop areas particularly in urban areas
- opportunities to extend existing settlements
Alongside this, you should run a call for sites to identify additional opportunities.
Size and type of sites you need
You should identify a range of different size sites in your area. This will help you plan for a mix of development opportunities to meet your identified development needs. This includes small-scale sites to those with opportunities for larger-scale development, and broad locations for development where appropriate.
You may want to apply a minimum site size threshold. The threshold you choose is likely to depend on the characteristics of your area and the amount of development you are planning for. Your approach to identifying sites should be thorough but proportionate. If, later in the process, you find you do not have sufficient sites, you may need to lower the threshold and reconsider sites you previously discounted.
You will likely need to identify sites for a variety of different types of housing and employment uses. You will consider specific uses for sites in more detail later in the process. As you are identifying sites, keep in mind that land for different types of housing and employment uses may:
- be identified from different sources
- depend on your local circumstances
Different types of housing sites could include:
- market housing for sale or renting including build to rent and co-living
- affordable housing
- specialist housing, such as homes for older people and disabled people
- self-build and custom-build housing
- student accommodation
You can also use this to identify potential pitch and plot locations to meet the needs of Gypsies and Travellers and travelling show people.
Different types of employment sites could include:
- offices, leisure and retail
- research, development and knowledge
- industrial
- logistics
- data centres
- employment-led mixed use
Next steps
Learn about running a call for sites, including what information to collect and where to publicise.
Running a call for sites
Learn where and when to publicise your call for sites to potential respondents, including what information to collect on each site.
A call for sites is an effective way of finding new sites for potential development that have not been previously identified. It asks stakeholders including developers, landowners, public bodies and the general public to propose land they think is right for development. These can then be assessed, with the most appropriate put forward for allocation during the local plan process.
Aim of this section
This section helps you understand how to:
- effectively publicise a call for sites
- understand the different ways and channels to reach potential respondents
- include the information you need in your call for sites
Outputs of this section
You will have:
- a list of proposed sites with potential for development in your area that will be assessed in stage 2
- detailed information about each site
You may also have a published list of these sites .
Who to target with a call for sites
Issue the call for sites to as wide an audience as possible, including:
- developers and house builders
- estate agents and local property agents
- landowners
- land promoters
- planning consultants
- businesses and interest groups
- public bodies
- local councillors
- parish and town councils
- neighbourhood planning forums
- local residents and the wider public
- other departments within your authority
Remember - anyone can propose land for development, even if they do not own the land they are putting forward, so include whoever you need to give you a thorough audit of your options.
When publicising the call for sites it is helpful to share as much information about your draft local plan as possible. This will give respondents useful context and make it more likely they suggest appropriate sites. The detail you can provide will depend on how far you have progressed on other local plan work but could include:
- an early indication of the vision for your area, to be included in your draft local plan
- an initial assessment of housing and employment land needs
- your local plan timetable
When and how to publicise your call for sites
You can run a call for sites in a way that suits you best. This could be open-ended throughout the process, periodically open at certain times, or open for a defined number of weeks. The approach you take will determine the number of sites that are likely to be put forward.
You can keep your call for sites open for the length of the site identification, assessment and selection process. This might increase the number of responses but may make assessment more difficult if sites are still being proposed throughout. The approach you take to timings will depend on the desired outcome for your area.
Publicise your call for sites where people are most likely to see it. It will increase your chances of getting more respondents and make the process more transparent.
Examples of good places to publicise include:
- your local council website
- local bulletins
- public meetings
- direct emails to interested people, for example, people who have previously asked to be notified of updates or progress on local planning policy
- media channels, for example, the council magazine as well as online social media
What information to ask for in a call for sites
It’s essential to be clear about what you want from respondents.
It helps to standardise the information you receive and makes categorising and assessment easier. It also ensures the process is transparent and fair, as responders do not share more than they need to if expectations are clear.
Where possible, use an online form to collect the information you need. It will help make it more likely that respondents share only what you’ve asked for, and in a consistent format. This will save time when it comes to reviewing responses.
There is a minimum level of site data you should collect. It should give you enough detail to make an informed assessment. As well as this, you have the flexibility to ask any locally relevant questions that might help the process.
You should collect this information as standard:
| Category | What should be included |
|---|---|
| Respondent details | contact details relationship to site - for example, owner, developer |
| Site location | address, including postcode grid references / what3words digital mapping - GIS layer / shapefile |
| Site information | site size type of site - for example, is it previously developed previous and current use relevant planning history any previous site promotion any pre-application discussions details of vehicle access to and from public highway |
| Proposed site use | single or multiple use specific use or preferred uses potential scale of development |
| Known constraints | needing investigation before development - for example, flood risk issues mitigations for known risks |
| Any other considerations | if the site has multiple owners when the development could start and reasons for this details of market interest such as evidence of discussions with developers/housebuilders likely viability - for example, if there are any known factors that could result in abnormal development costs |
Reviewing and collecting extra information
When advertising your call for sites, you should be clear that any information provided that is not relevant at this stage may not be used. You can reserve the right to not review it. Equally, if you feel extra information would be useful, you can request it later.
Sometimes not everyone will be able to share all the information you have asked for. You can decide whether what they provide is sufficient to work with. You need to ensure you have enough information to make robust assessments of the sites, so you could also seek to collect extra information independently from a call for sites to help with this.
Contacting respondents
You should tell anyone who submits information when you:
- have received their submission
- will assess their site
- will be in contact if you need more information
You should also confirm that you will hold their data in accordance with data protection principles. Otherwise, there’s no need to contact respondents unless you need to clarify anything with them.
Examples of things you may need to clarify include:
- checking general facts and information they have given you
- development progress for sites with planning permission
- understanding the type and scale of development for proposed sites
- more detail on deliverability and how any barriers might be overcome
Publishing your sites
After completing a thorough process to identify sites, it’s up to you whether you publish a list of the sites at this stage. There is no requirement to do so, but it could help make the process more transparent.
Publishing gives residents the chance to see all the sites identified, and provide more information, if available. It also helps them feel more connected to the local plan and allows them to track the identification and selection process more closely.
If you decide to publish, we recommend including a detailed or interactive map for increased clarity. It is also essential to point out that these sites have not yet been assessed and no decisions have been made on which sites may or may not be taken forward into the draft local plan.
At this stage you may only need to include basic information on a map, such as the site’s:
- name
- location
- suggested land use
Before publishing any details of the sites consider what information should not be made public, in line with the data protection principles. This could include personal data such as the contact details of those who have proposed sites.
Next steps
After identifying your sites and gathering the information you need, you should start Stage 2 – assessing sites.