What Is a Local Plan?
A Local Plan sets out where future homes, employment land, infrastructure and growth should be located in a council area. It is one of the most important planning documents affecting the future development potential of farmland.
Councils regularly review Local Plans and need to identify enough land to meet future housing and employment requirements. During this process, farmland on the edge of towns and villages may be considered for allocation, especially where it is well related to existing settlements and capable of being delivered.
Getting land included in a Local Plan can be a major step towards planning permission. It does not always guarantee consent, but it can significantly improve the planning position, increase developer confidence and strengthen the market value of land.
For farmers, this means that land which is currently used for grazing, arable cropping or general agricultural purposes may have a very different value if it can be shown to form a logical future development site. The Local Plan process is often where that potential is first identified, tested and promoted.
The strongest sites usually combine a good settlement relationship, safe access, limited environmental constraints, available ownership, realistic infrastructure solutions and a clear ability to deliver housing, employment land or mixed-use growth within the plan period.
The Local Plan process typically involves several important stages that can influence whether farmland is considered for future development:
Call for Sites
Councils invite landowners and promoters to submit land for assessment.
Suitability
The council considers whether development would be appropriate in planning terms.
Availability
The land must be genuinely available and capable of coming forward for development.
Achievability
The site needs to be deliverable, viable and capable of being developed within the plan period.
Consultation
Landowners, developers, residents and other stakeholders can make representations throughout the plan-making process.
Allocation
Suitable sites may ultimately be identified and allocated for future housing, employment or mixed-use development.
Why Local Plan Promotion Matters
Many farmers wait until developers approach them, but proactive Local Plan promotion can put land in front of the council at the right time.
A site that is not promoted may be overlooked, even if it has genuine potential. Early engagement can therefore be important.
Local Plans are often highly competitive, with councils assessing numerous sites for potential allocation. Land that is actively promoted and supported by appropriate planning evidence may have a greater opportunity to be considered alongside other development options as the plan progresses.
The right planning strategy can make a major difference to the value achieved.
How Value My Land Helps With Local Plan Promotion
Value My Land can monitor Local Plan reviews, identify Call for Sites opportunities, prepare promotion strategies, coordinate technical evidence and help farmers present land as a credible development option.
How We Help Farmers Maximise Land Value
How Farmland is Considered During a Local Plan Review
Local Plan reviews usually involve several stages. A council will consider housing need, employment land requirements, infrastructure capacity, settlement hierarchy, environmental constraints and the availability of land. Farmland may be submitted by landowners, promoters, agents or developers during a Call for Sites or similar land availability exercise.
The council may then assess the site through evidence base documents such as a HELAA, SHELAA, SHLAA, land availability assessment or site selection report. These assessments do not automatically allocate land, but they help determine whether a site should be considered further.
A strong Local Plan promotion strategy normally needs to explain why the land is suitable, why it is available, how it can be accessed, what constraints exist, how those constraints can be addressed, and why the site represents a logical location for future growth.
Suitability
Suitability considers whether the land is an appropriate location for development. This may include the site’s relationship to the settlement, access, landscape impact, flood risk, ecology, heritage, agricultural land quality, neighbouring uses and whether the proposal would create a sustainable pattern of development.
Availability
Availability means the landowner is willing for the land to be considered for development. Ownership, legal restrictions, tenancies, access rights, ransom strips and third-party interests can all affect whether farmland can realistically come forward.
Achievability
Achievability looks at whether development is likely to be viable and deliverable. A council will want to understand whether infrastructure, abnormal costs, market demand, access works, drainage, utilities and mitigation requirements are likely to prevent delivery.
Deliverability
Deliverability is important because councils need sites that can come forward within the plan period. A site that appears attractive on paper may still struggle if it lacks access, has unresolved constraints or depends on major infrastructure that cannot be funded.
Call for Sites: Why Farmers Should Pay Attention
A Call for Sites is one of the main opportunities for a farmer or landowner to tell the council that land is available for future development. It is often the starting point for getting farmland considered as part of the Local Plan evidence base.
Missing a Call for Sites does not always mean the opportunity is lost, but it can make promotion harder. If neighbouring land is submitted and your land is not, the council may have more evidence about alternative sites and less information about your farm’s potential.
Submitting land is not the same as agreeing to sell it immediately. It is a way of putting the land forward for consideration, testing planning prospects and creating a record that the land may be available if allocated in future.
What a Good Submission Should Explain
What Makes Farmland More Likely to Be Allocated?
There is no guarantee that farmland will be included in a Local Plan. However, some features can make a site more credible when compared with other potential locations.
While every Local Plan is different, councils generally look for sites that are sustainable, available and capable of being delivered within the plan period. The more positively a site performs against these criteria, the more likely it is to be considered alongside other potential development locations.
What Factors Will a Council Consider?
A Logical Settlement Extension
Farmland adjoining an existing built-up area may be easier to justify than isolated countryside land. A clear boundary, defensible edge and connection to the existing settlement pattern can help.
Access and Infrastructure
Councils need confidence that safe access, drainage, utilities, walking routes and infrastructure can be delivered. Access problems can significantly weaken a site.
Limited Environmental Constraints
Flood risk, protected habitats, heritage assets, landscape sensitivity and other constraints do not always rule out development, but they must be understood and capable of mitigation.
Housing Need and Supply Pressure
Where a council needs to identify new housing land, edge-of-settlement farmland may become more important, particularly if existing allocations are not delivering quickly enough.
Clear Landowner Support
A site is stronger where the landowner is engaged, the land is genuinely available and there are no unresolved ownership issues that would prevent delivery.
Technical Evidence
Promoted sites often benefit from proportionate evidence on highways, ecology, landscape, drainage, utilities, arboriculture, heritage and deliverability.
How Local Plan Allocation Can Affect Farmland Value
Farmland without planning prospects is usually valued mainly by reference to agricultural use. If a site is promoted through a Local Plan and identified as suitable for future development, its value profile can change significantly.
Allocation can increase developer interest because it reduces some planning uncertainty. It can also create a clearer route to a planning application, although detailed issues such as access, drainage, ecology, design, infrastructure and affordable housing still need to be resolved.
For farmers, the key point is timing. Selling too early, before planning potential has been properly assessed, may mean accepting a price that does not reflect future development prospects. Waiting too long without a strategy can also result in missed Local Plan deadlines.
Value My Land can help identify whether land may have immediate development value, longer-term hope value, or strategic potential through the Local Plan process.
Related Guides
Explore practical guides for farmers and landowners seeking to understand how agricultural land can be promoted through the Local Plan process, from site suitability and development potential to Call for Sites submissions and land promotion. Learn how strategic planning, planning permission and promotion agreements can improve the prospects of farmland being allocated for housing or other development and help unlock its long-term value.
Call for Sites Guide for Farmers
Learn how to submit farmland through a council Call for Sites and present a credible case for future allocation.
Click hereLocal Plan Allocation Guide
Understand how land is assessed, promoted and considered for allocation through the Local Plan process.
Click hereWhat Is Land Promotion?
See how a land promoter can fund and manage the planning strategy required to pursue a Local Plan allocation.
Click herePromotion Agreements for Farmers
Discover how promotion agreements align landowners and promoters while protecting a farmer's interests.
Click hereAgricultural Land Development Potential
Assess the location, access, policy constraints and housing need indicators that shape agricultural land development potential.
Click hereIs My Farm Suitable for Development?
Review the practical tests used to determine whether a farm could support residential or mixed-use development.
Click hereHow Do Farmers Obtain Planning Permission?
Follow the principal routes available to farmers, including Local Plan promotion, Call for Sites submissions and planning applications.
Click hereCan Agricultural Land Obtain Planning Permission?
Understand the planning policy tests, evidence and development routes that may apply to agricultural land.
Click hereCan I Get Planning for My Farm?
Understand how Local Plan status, site allocation and planning policy affect the chances of obtaining permission on farmland.
Click hereFrequently Asked Questions
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