Why Do Councils Run Calls for Sites?
Councils are required to identify enough land to meet future housing and economic growth needs.
To achieve this, councils regularly seek information on land that may be capable of accommodating development through exercises such as Calls for Sites and land availability assessments.
The Calls for Sites process helps councils:
- Identify potential housing sites
- Assess future employment land
- Understand land availability
- Inform Local Plan preparation
- Meet Government housing requirements
Without landowners putting sites forward, councils may be unaware of potential development opportunities.
Why Landowners Should Pay Attention
Many landowners are unaware that their land may have development potential until a Local Plan review is already underway. However, Calls for Sites often provide one of the earliest opportunities to ensure that land is considered as part of the authority's assessment of future growth options. Missing a submission window can mean waiting several years before another opportunity arises, potentially delaying the prospect of securing an allocation or bringing the land forward for development.
Submitting land through a Call for Sites ensures that it can be assessed alongside competing opportunities within the local authority area. This allows the council to consider the site's sustainability, availability, achievability and overall suitability as part of the plan-making process. Even where a site is not allocated immediately, inclusion within the authority's evidence base can be beneficial, helping to establish the site's credentials and ensuring that it remains part of future planning discussions.
For many landowners, early engagement with the Local Plan process can be an important step towards unlocking future value. Ensuring that land is properly promoted and assessed provides the best opportunity for its development potential to be recognised and considered as part of the authority's long-term growth strategy.
Even if a site is not allocated immediately, inclusion within the council's evidence base can improve its long-term prospects.
What Happens After Submission?
Once a site has been submitted through a Call for Sites exercise, the local planning authority will typically undertake a detailed assessment to determine whether it may be suitable for future development. This review often considers a wide range of planning, environmental and technical factors, including sustainability, highway access, flood risk, landscape impact, environmental constraints, heritage considerations, infrastructure capacity, relationship to nearby settlements and the overall deliverability of the site.
The authority will then compare the site against other land that has been submitted, assessing how well each opportunity aligns with the council's growth strategy and future development requirements. This can be a highly competitive process, as local authorities are often required to choose between multiple potential development sites.
Following the assessment, some sites may be identified as preferred options for further consideration, whilst others may be discounted or retained as reserve opportunities. Importantly, a site does not necessarily need to be selected immediately to have future potential. Planning circumstances, housing requirements and Local Plan strategies can change over time, meaning that sites not chosen during one review cycle may perform more favourably during future assessments. For this reason, ensuring that a site is properly promoted and supported by robust evidence can be critical to maximising its long-term prospects.
A professionally prepared submission helps ensure the council fully understands the merits of your land, increasing its visibility and improving its prospects of being positively considered during the assessment and review process.
Sustainability
Highway access
Flood risk
Landscape impact
Environmental constraints
Relationship to settlements
Infrastructure capacity
Deliverability
What Makes a Strong Call for Sites Submission?
Simply submitting a location plan is rarely enough. Whilst landowners can submit sites directly to the council, a professionally prepared Call for Sites submission will often be far more effective. Local planning authorities are frequently assessing large numbers of competing sites, so it is important that a submission clearly explains why the land should be considered suitable for future development and how it aligns with the authority's growth objectives.
At Value My Land, we assess the planning potential of your land, identify opportunities and constraints, and prepare a robust planning case supported by relevant evidence and policy analysis. This helps ensure that the council fully understands the site's merits, sustainability credentials, availability and development potential. A well-presented submission can significantly improve the visibility of a site during the assessment process and maximise its prospects of progressing through subsequent stages of the Local Plan review.
The strongest submissions do more than simply identify a parcel of land. They demonstrate why the site is capable of delivering sustainable development, how it relates to existing settlements, whether suitable access can be achieved, how any constraints can be addressed and why the land represents a realistic and deliverable opportunity. By presenting a clear and evidence-based planning case, landowners can significantly improve the likelihood of their site being viewed favourably when compared against competing development opportunities.
A Strong Call for Sites Submission Will Demonstrate:
Sustainable Location
Councils generally favour sites that are located close to:
- Schools
- Shops
- Healthcare facilities
- Public transport
- Existing communities
Availability
Authorities need confidence that the land can realistically be brought forward. Clear landownership and a willingness to develop are important factors.
Deliverability
Sites must be capable of being developed within a reasonable timeframe. Councils will consider:
- Access arrangements
- Infrastructure requirements
- Technical constraints
- Viability
Why Professional Promotion Matters
Local Plan promotion is highly competitive. Many councils receive hundreds of submissions during a Call for Sites exercise, all competing for a limited number of potential allocations. As a result, simply submitting land is often not enough to maximise the prospects of success.
Professional promotion helps ensure that a site's strengths are clearly identified, evidenced and presented to the local planning authority. A well-prepared submission can demonstrate why the land is sustainable, available and achievable, whilst addressing potential constraints and highlighting how the site can contribute towards the authority's housing, employment or growth objectives. It also ensures that the site is promoted throughout the Local Plan process, with representations made at key consultation stages and additional evidence submitted where necessary.
Many successful allocations are the result of sustained promotion over several years rather than a single submission. By actively engaging with the planning process, responding to emerging policy documents and ensuring that the site's merits remain visible throughout the plan-making process, landowners can significantly improve the likelihood of their land being considered for future development. Professional promotion therefore provides not only a stronger initial submission, but also an ongoing strategy designed to maximise the site's long-term prospects and potential value.
At Value My Land, we can help prepare a strong, professionally presented Call for Sites submission that is designed to stand out from competing land opportunities. Our team assesses the planning potential of your land, identifies key opportunities and constraints, and prepares a robust planning case supported by relevant policy analysis and evidence. We focus on demonstrating why the site is sustainable, available and achievable, whilst clearly explaining how it can contribute towards the local authority's future growth requirements.
By presenting a clear and well-structured submission, we help ensure that the council fully understands the site's merits and development potential. In a process where many authorities receive hundreds of submissions, a professionally prepared promotion strategy can significantly improve the visibility of a site and maximise its prospects of being considered for future allocation within the Local Plan.
The most successful submissions are often supported by:
Planning statements
Concept masterplans
Access assessments
Flood risk reviews
Landscape appraisals
Sustainability evidence
A professionally prepared submission can significantly improve the way a site is perceived.
Can Any Land Be Submitted?
In most cases, yes. Land does not need to have planning permission to be submitted through a Call for Sites exercise. In fact, the purpose of the process is to identify land that may have future development potential, regardless of its current planning status. Agricultural land, paddocks, Green Belt land, brownfield sites, commercial land and other undeveloped parcels can all potentially be submitted for consideration.
Local planning authorities are generally seeking to understand the full range of development opportunities available within their area. As a result, landowners are encouraged to put forward sites that they believe may be capable of accommodating future housing, employment or other forms of development. The submission process allows the council to assess each site against a range of planning, environmental and technical considerations before determining whether it may be suitable for future allocation.
Whilst most land can be submitted, not every site will ultimately be considered suitable for development. The key objective is to ensure that the land is assessed as part of the Local Plan process so that its merits, opportunities and constraints can be properly evaluated. Without a submission, there is a risk that potentially suitable land may never be considered as part of the authority's future growth strategy.
Sites commonly submitted include:
Agricultural land
Grazing land
Greenfield land
Green Belt land
Brownfield sites
Edge-of-settlement land
The key question is not whether land can be submitted, but whether it has realistic development potential.
How Much Could Allocation Increase Land Value?
The difference between agricultural land and development land can be substantial. Whilst every site is unique and values vary depending on location, scale, planning prospects and market conditions, Local Plan allocation can often have a significant impact on both market interest and land value.
Allocation demonstrates that a local planning authority considers a site suitable for future development and has identified it as part of its long-term growth strategy. This can substantially reduce planning risk in the eyes of developers, housebuilders and investors, making the land considerably more attractive than a site with no policy support. As a result, allocated land often attracts increased competition from potential purchasers, which can have a positive effect on value.
Importantly, allocation does not automatically grant planning permission, but it is frequently regarded as one of the most significant milestones in the planning process. For many landowners, Local Plan allocation represents the single biggest step towards unlocking development value because it establishes a strong policy basis for future planning applications and signals that the principle of development has gained support. Consequently, sites that secure an allocation can experience a substantial uplift in value compared with land valued solely on its existing agricultural or other current use.
For many landowners, Local Plan allocation represents the single biggest step towards unlocking development value.
Common Mistakes Landowners Make
Avoiding common mistakes can significantly improve the prospects of securing a successful outcome through the Local Plan process and maximising the value of your land.
Missing Submission Deadlines
Many opportunities are lost simply because land is never submitted for consideration. One of the most common mistakes made by landowners is overlooking or missing a Call for Sites submission deadline. If a site is not put forward at the appropriate stage of the Local Plan process, the local planning authority may have no opportunity to assess its development potential alongside competing sites. In many cases, this can mean waiting several years for the next review cycle before the land can be reconsidered. Early engagement and timely submission are therefore essential to ensure a site is properly assessed and has the best possible chance of being included within future planning policy.
Underestimating Development Potential
Another common mistake is underestimating a site's development potential. Many landowners assume that development is impossible because the land lies outside a settlement boundary, is designated as Green Belt, or has never previously been promoted for development. In reality, planning policy is constantly evolving, housing requirements change, and local authorities regularly review potential development sites through Local Plan updates and Call for Sites exercises. Land that may have been considered unsuitable in the past can become a realistic development opportunity as circumstances change. Obtaining professional planning and land promotion advice can often identify opportunities that are not immediately apparent, helping landowners understand the true potential of their land before making important decisions.
Focusing Only on Planning Applications
Some landowners focus exclusively on planning applications and overlook the importance of the Local Plan process. Whilst submitting a planning application can be an effective route in certain circumstances, it is not always the most strategic approach. The Local Plan process allows sites to be promoted for inclusion within a council’s long-term development strategy, enabling land to be assessed alongside wider housing, employment and infrastructure requirements. Securing a Local Plan allocation can provide a strong policy foundation for future development and often improves the prospects of obtaining planning permission at a later stage. For many landowners, successful promotion through the Local Plan process represents one of the most significant steps towards unlocking development potential and maximising long-term land value.
Selling Too Early
Selling land before its development potential has been properly explored can be a costly mistake. Many landowners choose to sell based on the land's existing use value without fully understanding how planning prospects could influence its future worth. Land that has the potential for allocation, planning permission or longer-term development promotion may attract significantly greater market interest than land sold without any planning strategy in place. By obtaining professional advice, monitoring Local Plan reviews and considering land promotion opportunities, landowners can make more informed decisions and ensure that the full development potential of their land is properly assessed before committing to a sale. In many cases, taking a strategic approach can help maximise value and improve the range of options available to the landowner.
Frequently Asked Questions
Free Development Potential Review
If you own land and would like to know whether there is an active Call for Sites in your area, Value My Land can help. We can review:
- Local Plan activity
- Current Call for Sites opportunities
- Development potential
- Likely planning constraints
- Indicative land value
Find Out Whether Your Land Has Development Potential
Understanding the Call for Sites process and having your land professionally reviewed could be the first step towards unlocking its development potential. Contact Value My Land today for a free, no-obligation initial assessment and find out whether your land may be suitable for future development opportunities.