Harborough District extends from the Leicester urban fringe through Market Harborough and Lutterworth to a wide network of villages and open countryside. Land values differ sharply between rail-connected market-town sites, M1 and A5 employment corridors, Leicester-edge growth areas and rural parcels with limited services.
We assess strategic housing land, village-edge fields, brownfield sites, employment and logistics land, redundant buildings, paddocks and agricultural holdings. The strongest opportunities usually combine a clear role in the settlement hierarchy with deliverable access, infrastructure and a planning strategy proportionate to the site.
The adopted 2011–2031 Local Plan remains in force while the submitted 2020–2041 plan is examined. Our review considers both policy positions, together with access, landscape, heritage, flood risk, drainage, ecology, utilities, viability and the effect of development on retained land.
Our initial assessment is completely free and comes with no obligation.
Do You Own Land in Harborough District? Discover What Your Land Could Be Worth
Obtaining planning permission can significantly increase the value of land, making it one of the most important factors influencing its market value. Determining whether land is suitable for development involves much more than location alone. Councils assess a wide range of factors, including planning policy, access and highways, landscape, ecology, flood risk, drainage, heritage, utilities and infrastructure. Whilst no single factor guarantees planning permission, land that benefits from a combination of favourable characteristics is generally more likely to be considered suitable for development, increasing both its market value and long-term development potential.
The location of your land is one of the most important factors when assessing its development potential. Land situated close to existing towns, villages, schools, shops, employment areas and public transport is often more attractive to both developers and local planning authorities. Sites that naturally extend existing communities are generally considered more suitable for future residential or commercial development.
Planning policy plays a major role in determining whether land may be suitable for development. Councils prepare Local Plans to identify where future homes and employment growth should take place. Land that aligns with national planning policy, emerging Local Plans or areas identified for future growth may have a greater opportunity of securing planning permission over time.
Safe and practical access is essential for almost every development. Councils will consider whether vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists can safely access the site, together with the effect on the surrounding road network. Land that can be connected to existing highways without significant improvements is often viewed more favourably when assessing future development opportunities.
The surrounding landscape can significantly influence whether land is suitable for development. Factors such as topography, existing trees, hedgerows, important views and the relationship with neighbouring development are carefully considered. Sites that can be sensitively integrated into the surrounding landscape whilst retaining important natural features generally offer greater development potential.
Wildlife and environmental considerations form an important part of the planning process. Existing habitats, protected species, mature trees, hedgerows and nearby nature conservation sites are all assessed. Land with fewer ecological constraints, or where habitats can be protected and enhanced through thoughtful design, may provide stronger opportunities for future development.
Flood risk is an important consideration when assessing land for development. Sites with a lower risk of flooding are generally more suitable, although many locations can still be successfully developed with appropriate drainage solutions. Councils will also consider how surface water can be managed through sustainable drainage systems to reduce future flood risk.
Historic buildings, conservation areas and archaeological remains can all influence the development potential of land. Planning authorities will assess whether development could affect the significance or setting of heritage assets. Land with limited heritage constraints, or where sensitive design can preserve local character, is often easier to bring forward for development.
Access to essential infrastructure can influence how easily a site can be developed. This includes electricity, water, drainage, broadband, gas and nearby community facilities such as schools and healthcare. Land that can be connected to existing services without significant investment is generally more attractive from both a planning and development perspective.
Every site is unique, and no single factor determines whether planning permission can be achieved. A successful assessment considers all planning, environmental and technical matters together to understand the site's overall suitability. By reviewing each of these considerations, it is possible to identify both the opportunities and constraints that could affect future development potential.
The latest land value estimates for Harborough District, published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), indicate that residential development land with planning permission could be worth between £1.1 million and £3.4 million per acre, depending on the density of the development. These figures highlight the significant uplift in value that can be achieved when suitable land secures planning consent.
The difference becomes particularly clear when development land values are compared with agricultural land prices across the Midlands. Recent agricultural land market evidence provides the following broad regional benchmarks:
On this basis, residential development land with planning permission could be worth more than 100 times the typical value of agricultural land. This demonstrates why landowners should investigate whether their agricultural, paddock, equestrian or amenity land may have development potential before deciding to sell.
At Value My Land, we help landowners understand the development potential of their land and the steps required to increase its value. Where appropriate, we manage and fund the entire planning process at our own cost and risk, allowing landowners to increase the value of their land without incurring any upfront costs or taking on any financial or planning risk.
See how agricultural land is valued in the UK, including land quality, access, location, tenure, market demand and development potential. Our evergreen guide explains why price-per-acre evidence is only a starting point and how site-specific factors can affect farmland value.
Read Our Agricultural Land Value GuideHarborough is a large and varied district. A rail-connected site at Market Harborough, land near Lutterworth and Magna Park, a Leicester-fringe parcel and a field beside a rural village cannot be valued using the same assumptions. The settlement role, access, infrastructure and planning route must be established first.
Market Harborough and Lutterworth perform different strategic roles from Kibworth, Fleckney, Broughton Astley, Great Glen and smaller villages. The availability of schools, shops, public transport and employment affects both policy and marketability.
Market Harborough’s rail service, the A6 corridor and Lutterworth’s relationship with the M1, M6, A5 and A426 can support value. Access quality, congestion and the cost of network improvements still require site-specific evidence.
Magna Park and the wider Lutterworth corridor create strong logistics and employment demand, while Market Harborough supports a different office, industrial and service market. Plot size, HGV access and labour catchment influence value.
The adopted plan, submitted replacement plan, existing commitments and any proposed modifications must be considered together. Examination may change policy wording, phasing, infrastructure or site boundaries.
The Welland valley, historic market towns, conservation areas, ridge-and-furrow, mature hedgerows and open countryside can influence density, layout and whether a village-edge site is acceptable.
River and brook corridors, surface-water flow paths, groundwater, sewer capacity and the space required for SuDS can reduce the net developable area and affect the timing of infrastructure.
Strategic sites may require schools, distributor roads, green infrastructure and several ownerships. Smaller farm parcels need access, drainage, tenancies and the continued operation of the retained holding protected from the outset.
The strongest valuation is based on a use that can be justified through policy, physically accommodated and sold into a proven market. Development costs, planning obligations and delivery time are deducted before the residual land value is established.
The Harborough Local Plan 2011–2031, adopted in April 2019, remains the statutory development plan. The replacement Harborough Local Plan 2020–2041 was submitted for independent examination on 17 April 2026, and the examination is now underway.
Planning applications continue to be assessed against the adopted 2011–2031 plan, made neighbourhood plans and other material considerations. Existing allocations, settlement policies and strategic development areas therefore remain important.
The submitted plan sets out the Council’s intended long-term distribution of homes, employment, infrastructure and environmental protection. It includes strategic and non-strategic policies that are being tested for legal compliance and soundness.
Three Inspectors have been appointed. A Stage 1 hearing was held on 12 August 2026, with examination documents, statements of common ground and hearing arrangements published through the Council’s examination library.
Inspectors can recommend modifications needed to make the plan sound. These may affect policy wording, site requirements, infrastructure, housing trajectory or the treatment of particular locations, followed by consultation before the Inspectors report.
Land not included as an allocation may still have a planning route through an existing commitment, a neighbourhood plan, a windfall application, a main-modification case where justified, or a later plan review. The correct route depends on the submitted strategy, five-year supply, settlement policies and the site’s evidence.
Promotion should respond to the current examination and to the district’s varied settlement pattern. A strategic site near Leicester or Lutterworth needs a different evidence and commercial structure from a smaller village-edge parcel or brownfield site.
Review adopted allocations, submitted-plan policies, neighbourhood plans, examination matters and the Council’s land-availability evidence. Establish whether the site is a plan-led, application-led or longer-term opportunity.
Explain how development relates to the settlement hierarchy, services, public transport and local character. Use a defensible boundary, landscape framework and heritage assessment where the site is visually or historically sensitive.
Assess junction capacity, walking and cycling, public transport, schools, drainage, utilities and strategic contributions. Sites near Lutterworth, the Leicester fringe or major allocations may need cumulative and cross-boundary evidence.
Commission the surveys needed to answer the principal reasons a site might be rejected, without spending prematurely on a full planning application where the policy route remains uncertain.
Promotion, option and conditional-sale agreements should address costs, decision-making, minimum price, tax, retained land, access, overage and competitive marketing. Wider strategic ownerships may also require equalisation or collaboration arrangements.
At examination stage, timing matters. A representation made at Regulation 19 cannot simply be replaced with an entirely new case at a hearing. Landowners should understand the scope of their existing representation, the Inspectors’ matters and whether later evidence can properly be introduced.
The district contains distinct housing and employment markets. Development prospects are shaped by Market Harborough, Lutterworth, the Leicester fringe, larger villages and a substantial rural area.
Rail connectivity, town-centre services and established residential demand support housing, employment and mixed-use opportunities. Urban-edge sites must address the A6 corridor, landscape, drainage and infrastructure.
The M1, M6, A5 and A426 create a major employment and logistics location. Housing and employment land values are influenced by strategic transport, HGV movement, infrastructure and the relationship between Lutterworth, Bitteswell and Magna Park.
Scraptoft, Thurnby, Bushby and nearby settlements are influenced by Leicester’s housing market and cross-boundary transport. Strategic sites require coordination with Oadby & Wigston, Leicester City and the County Council.
These larger settlements have services and market demand but also local highway, school, drainage and landscape constraints. Capacity and scale must be matched to settlement function.
Land around Broughton Astley, Ullesthorpe, Dunton Bassett and neighbouring settlements is affected by access to Lutterworth and Leicester, local services and rural road capacity.
Smaller villages and farm holdings around the Welland valley and rural east may offer infill, conversion, rural employment or carefully contained growth, but heritage, landscape and service accessibility are decisive.
We review land throughout the district, from strategic growth areas and market-town edges to village sites and rural holdings. A map pin or title plan is enough for an initial appraisal.
Housing, employment, brownfield and mixed-use sites influenced by rail access, the A6, town services and the existing urban edge.
Residential, logistics and employment opportunities affected by motorway access, strategic infrastructure, settlement separation and HGV movement.
Leicester-fringe and cross-boundary sites requiring coordinated transport, green infrastructure, school and masterplanning evidence.
Village-edge, infill and employment sites where service provision, local roads, rail or bus access, landscape and drainage influence capacity.
Land influenced by the Leicester and Lutterworth markets, rural road capacity, settlement form and retained agricultural uses.
Smaller housing, rural enterprise, conversion, renewable-energy and long-term promotion opportunities requiring careful policy assessment.
Neighbourhood plans are an important part of the development plan in many Harborough communities. The policies and settlement boundaries in the relevant made plan should be reviewed alongside the district-wide Local Plan.
Harborough supports several different development markets. The appraisal should compare the most realistic alternatives and the evidence, cost and timescale associated with each one.
Urban extensions, infill, town-centre sites and brownfield land may support housing or mixed uses where access, infrastructure and market demand are demonstrated.
Land around Lutterworth, Magna Park and strategic road corridors may suit logistics, manufacturing or employment, subject to HGV access, utilities, labour, landscape and policy need.
Larger sites adjoining the Leicester urban area can help meet housing and infrastructure needs but usually require cross-boundary transport, comprehensive masterplanning and several landowners.
Well-contained land beside a serviced village may have prospects through an allocation, neighbourhood plan or planning application. The scale must remain proportionate and locally deliverable.
Former employment sites, redundant buildings, yards and underused plots can offer shorter routes, although heritage, contamination, access and viability may be material.
Diversification, conversion, tourism, equestrian, renewable energy and partial farm promotion can create value while maintaining access, drainage and the viability of the retained holding.
Land value is highly sensitive to the use class, net developable area, local sales or rental market, affordable housing, planning obligations, strategic infrastructure and abnormal costs. These should be tested before commercial terms are agreed.
A complete planning application is not needed for an initial review. The following information helps identify the likely policy route, key constraints and whether further expenditure is justified.
Provide the title plan, map pin, ownership details, access rights, tenancies and any part of a farm or business that must remain operational.
Include Call for Sites, SHELAA, allocation, examination, neighbourhood-plan or planning references and any Council assessment or reason for discounting the site.
Identify the proposed vehicular access, visibility, public rights of way, nearby bus stops or railway station, local junction constraints and any highway work already undertaken.
Share flood, drainage, ecology, tree, landscape, heritage, archaeology, agricultural land and ground-condition information where available.
Any concept plan, expected dwelling or employment capacity, infrastructure assumptions, promoter approach, preferred timescale and commercial objectives are useful but not essential.
Live Planning Opportunities
Search our live planning pages to identify current opportunities for promoting land through the planning system. You can find open Call for Sites exercises, monitor the progress of emerging and reviewed Local Plans and identify current HELAA and SHLAA assessments being undertaken by local councils. These resources can help landowners understand when councils are seeking new development sites, where future growth may be planned and when land can be submitted for consideration for housing, employment or mixed-use development.
Search for open Call for Sites exercises and identify councils currently inviting land submissions.
Search Open OpportunitiesMonitor emerging and reviewed Local Plans and understand where future growth may be directed.
Track Local PlansIdentify current HELAA and SHLAA assessments being undertaken by local planning authorities.
View Land AssessmentsAugust 2026 National Policy
The final National Planning Policy Framework took effect for decision-making on 17 August 2026. It changes the national route used to assess development opportunities across Harborough District, but it does not replace the need for a site-specific review of local policy, access, constraints, infrastructure and deliverability.
Policy S3 now directs proposals within a settlement to policy S4 and proposals outside a settlement to policy S5. For land across Harborough District, the adopted policies map, any defined settlement boundary and the precise position of the whole site should therefore be checked before drawing conclusions from nearby development.
Policy L2 gives substantial weight to the benefits of remediating degraded or contaminated land and making better use of vacant, underused and previously developed land. That support is important, but it does not remove access, design, flood-risk, ecology, heritage, amenity or infrastructure requirements.
Grey belt is now defined as previously developed Green Belt land and/or other Green Belt land that does not strongly contribute to purposes A, B or D. Protected landscapes, habitats, heritage and flood risk are separate policy tests. Development must follow the applicable GB7 route and, for relevant major housing, the GB8 Golden Rules.
A five-year housing land supply shortfall or Housing Delivery Test result below 75% can evidence unmet housing need for policy S5(1)(j). That route is location-specific, requires the site to be physically well-related to a settlement and appropriately scaled for infrastructure, and does not itself apply as the development route within the Green Belt.
The new framework can alter the probability and route of obtaining planning permission across Harborough District; it does not automatically convert land to residential development value. A valuation should reflect the evidence, likely timescale, policy contributions, net developable area and remaining planning risk.
Read the National Planning Policy Framework published on 17 August 2026.
These guides cover the county, Market Harborough and the planning and commercial issues most relevant to Harborough landowners.
Compare strategic and development-land considerations across Leicestershire’s different planning authority areas.
Click hereReview town-specific land value, urban-edge, rail, infrastructure and development considerations.
Click hereUnderstand the compact urban and cross-boundary planning context immediately south-east of Leicester.
Click hereLearn how national policy, Local Plans, neighbourhood plans and material considerations affect land.
Click hereReview access, policy, services, environmental constraints and deliverability before promoting a site.
Click hereUnderstand site selection, representations, examination and the route to a development allocation.
Click hereFind out how made and emerging neighbourhood plans can affect settlement boundaries, allocations and applications.
Click hereSee how planning permission, affordable housing, infrastructure and development costs influence value.
Click hereCompare promotion, option, conditional sale and competitive marketing routes for land.
Click hereThe district supports housing, employment, rural and strategic opportunities. Each is valued using the relevant planning route, local market and development-cost assumptions.
Urban extensions, infill and settlement-edge sites around Market Harborough, Lutterworth and serviced villages.
Industrial, logistics and commercial sites near Magna Park, motorway corridors and established employment areas.
Larger Leicester-fringe and market-town parcels requiring allocation, masterplanning, infrastructure and coordinated ownership.
Former commercial land, redundant buildings, yards and mixed-use redevelopment opportunities.
Farms, paddocks and rural business land considered for diversification, conversion, energy or longer-term development.
Use our Land Assessment Tool to assess the development potential of your land. A low score does not necessarily mean your land cannot obtain planning permission. We always recommend that a full detailed assessment is undertaken by us.
Start answering the questions to discover your land’s development potential.
This tool provides an indicative assessment only. For a more accurate and detailed assessment, we recommend that a full professional appraisal is undertaken by our experts.
Our experts can provide a more detailed assessment and help unlock the full value of your land.
At Value My Land, we help Harborough District landowners understand whether their land may have development potential.
If you would like a free, no-obligation assessment of your land, simply send us the location of your site and we will carry out a high-level review of its development potential. We aim to make the process as straightforward as possible, so you do not need to provide detailed plans or technical information at this stage. Simply let us know where the land is located using one of the following:
The Harborough Local Plan 2011–2031, adopted in April 2019, remains in force. The replacement 2020–2041 plan was submitted on 17 April 2026 and is undergoing independent examination. The Inspectors may recommend modifications before deciding whether it is sound.
An examination tests the submitted plan and the representations made at Regulation 19; it is not normally a new Call for Sites. A modification involving land would need to be necessary for soundness and supported by sustainability and deliverability evidence. Read our Local Plan Allocation Guide.
Land beside a main town or well-served settlement may have a stronger sustainability case and deeper developer market than land beside a small village. This does not guarantee permission: access, infrastructure, landscape, neighbourhood-plan policies and scale remain important.
Good rail access can support residential and employment demand and may strengthen sustainable-location arguments. The benefit depends on safe walking and cycling routes, actual distance, service accessibility, density, parking and other site constraints.
Potentially. The appraisal must establish policy need, plot size, HGV access, utilities, labour supply, neighbouring uses, landscape and strategic-road impacts. Housing and logistics values are calculated differently. Read our employment-land guide.
It may do where the proposal accords with the development plan or material considerations support it. The settlement’s services, housing need, five-year supply, landscape, highway safety, drainage and neighbourhood-plan policies will influence the outcome.
Yes. The promoted parcel should have independent access and drainage or secure rights, while retained fields, buildings, services and agricultural movements are protected in the agreement and layout. Read our partial farm sale guide.
A postcode, title plan, map pin or what3words reference is enough to begin. Include any Local Plan or neighbourhood-plan reference, access details, planning history, surveys, tenancies or developer approach already available.
If you own land in Harborough District and would like to understand its potential development value, we can help. Our team will undertake an initial review of your site and provide an honest assessment of its prospects.
Whether you own agricultural land, Green Belt land, paddocks or larger strategic holdings, understanding your options is the first step towards unlocking value.
Request your FREE, no-obligation land assessment today and discover whether your land could have development potential.
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