How Much is My Land Worth in the East Midlands?

In March 2026, the East Midlands Combined County Authority approved the start of work on a Spatial Development Strategy intended to guide homes, jobs, transport, services and green infrastructure across Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire over the next 25 years, with an ambition for adoption in 2028. That emerging strategy will bridge national policy and local plans, but current applications and valuations must still begin with the adopted and emerging policies of the relevant city, district, borough or National Park authority.

The Trent Arc is a major investment proposition linking Derby, Nottingham, Toton and Chetwynd, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, Infinity Park, the East Midlands Intermodal Park and other growth assets. Its headline potential does not make every parcel within the broad corridor developable. Ownership assembly, local-plan status, transport capacity, flood risk, power connections, environmental mitigation and delivery phasing remain decisive.

Use the regional page to identify the strategic context, then review the separate Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Derby or Nottingham guide for the controlling local policy position.

Leicester adopted its Local Plan 2020–2036 in June 2026, but land outside the city boundary is governed by one of Leicestershire’s separate district or borough plans. The city’s constrained boundary and cross-boundary housing relationship do not transfer Leicester’s allocations or policies onto land in Blaby, Charnwood, Harborough, Hinckley and Bosworth, Melton, North West Leicestershire or Oadby and Wigston.

The M1, A46, East Midlands Airport, East Midlands Gateway, Loughborough’s university and science economy, the National Forest and strong market-town corridors can support demand for housing, logistics and advanced employment uses. They can also create substantial requirements for junction improvements, noise assessment, air-quality mitigation, utilities, landscape treatment and strategic infrastructure.

The East Midlands Airport and Gateway Industrial Cluster is one of the Freeport’s three defined tax sites, but Freeport status is boundary-specific. Nearby land does not obtain the same tax treatment or a presumption of planning permission simply because it is close to the airport or logistics park. Compare the Leicester and Leicestershire guides before relying on a regional growth narrative.

Lincolnshire contains several different plan-making geographies. Central Lincolnshire has a joint adopted plan for Lincoln, North Kesteven and West Lindsey, while Boston and South Holland share the South East Lincolnshire plan. East Lindsey, South Kesteven and the county’s other districts retain separate policy frameworks, and county-level minerals, waste, highways and flood-risk responsibilities must also be checked.

The Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority adds a strategic investment and infrastructure layer covering Lincolnshire County Council, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. Its geography is wider than the Lincolnshire part of the official East Midlands region, so combined-authority strategies and East Midlands regional boundaries should not be treated as interchangeable.

Land values are influenced by Lincoln’s growth, the A1 and A46 corridors, food production, ports and energy infrastructure, but the Lincolnshire coast, low-lying fenland, drainage boards, productive agricultural soils and long utility connections can sharply affect deliverability. The Lincolnshire land-value guide should therefore be used alongside the exact district page and current policies map.

North Northamptonshire Council is preparing a single Local Plan to 2045 that will eventually replace the Joint Core Strategy and the separate Part 2 plans inherited from Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough and East Northamptonshire. Its 2026 scoping consultation and Call for Sites closed on 1 July, with consultation on proposed plan content and evidence scheduled for later in 2026.

Until the replacement plan progresses and is adopted, the existing policy stack remains important. A parcel near Corby cannot be assessed solely by reference to a Wellingborough or Kettering growth assumption, even though all now sit within one unitary authority. Settlement role, adopted allocations, former district policies, neighbourhood plans and current evidence remain site-specific.

The A14, A1, A43 and Midland Main Line support nationally significant logistics, manufacturing and commuter markets. Large employment demand can raise strategic interest, but land value still depends on an allocated use, suitable labour catchment, junction capacity, power, water, rail access where claimed and the infrastructure burden. See the dedicated North Northamptonshire guide.

West Northamptonshire is preparing a replacement Local Plan to 2043. Consultation on the updated draft closed in March 2026, but the adopted West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy and the Northampton, Daventry and South Northamptonshire Part 2 plans continue to provide the current development-plan framework while the new plan advances.

Northampton’s urban and logistics market differs from land around Daventry, Towcester, Brackley and the rural villages. The M1, A43 and A45 create strong connectivity, while growth can be constrained by strategic road capacity, water and wastewater infrastructure, heritage, village identity, landscape, agricultural land and the timing of major allocations.

Regional average values are especially unreliable where one site serves a motorway logistics market and another depends on a long-term village allocation. The separate West Northamptonshire guide should be used to establish the relevant former-plan area, settlement role and current policy status.

Rutland is a separate unitary planning authority rather than part of a neighbouring Leicestershire or Northamptonshire district. Oakham, Uppingham, the larger villages and the open countryside therefore need to be assessed against Rutland’s own settlement strategy, policies map, neighbourhood plans and infrastructure evidence.

In 2026, Rutland is completing the examination of its submitted Local Plan while also commencing preparation of a new plan for 2026–2046. That unusual overlap means landowners must distinguish evidence and representations relating to the examined plan from submissions made for the longer-term replacement process. A Call for Sites is not an allocation, and a site’s treatment in one plan cycle should not be assumed to carry automatically into the next.

Rutland Water, landscape character, heritage, rural road capacity, sewer availability and the limited scale of local settlements can materially restrict density and net developable acreage. Use the dedicated Rutland guide for the county-specific assessment.

The Peak District National Park Authority controls planning within the National Park boundary, including land crossing several county and regional borders. A Derbyshire address does not establish that Derbyshire Dales, High Peak or another district council is the decision-maker. The precise National Park boundary must be checked before policy or land value is assessed.

Development is more closely related to protected-landscape purposes, local housing need, conservation, tourism, rural enterprise and the reuse of appropriate buildings than to the large strategic growth assumptions applied around the region’s cities. Topography, narrow roads, retaining works, landscape exposure, ecology, heritage and nutrient issues can substantially reduce capacity.

The Peak District National Park guide, together with the relevant Derbyshire district guide, should be reviewed before applying general East Midlands market evidence.

Development markets do not stop at the official East Midlands boundary. Northern Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire interact with South Yorkshire; western Derbyshire and Leicestershire connect with the West Midlands; southern Northamptonshire is influenced by Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes; and the eastern Lincolnshire market is affected by ports, the Humber and coastal infrastructure.

Cross-boundary demand may influence housing need, employment evidence, commuting and infrastructure investment, but the legal starting point remains the development plan applying to the site. A neighbouring authority’s shortage or growth proposal does not automatically justify development across the boundary.

For that reason, our regional assessment checks the site’s functional market area as well as its administrative location. This can identify genuine demand and buyer interest without confusing market influence with planning-policy status.