Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment

The Council is preparing a new Local Plan which will include a new strategy and policies to guide and manage growth and change across the borough.

To inform the plan-making process we must assess the amount of land available for development in Ashford Borough, in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and National Planning Practice Guidance (PPG)

This process of assessment is undertaken via a Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA).

The HELAA is a technical assessment that that is prepared by the Local Planning Authority (LPA) after the ‘Call for Sites’; and forms an important part of the evidence base supporting a new Ashford Local Plan. It provides a clear and up-to-date picture of land availability across the borough, and assesses each site’s suitability, availability, and achievability for their proposed land uses.

The HELAA does not:

• represent policy
• determine whether a site should be allocated for future development
• determine whether planning permission should be granted.

Land allocations can only be made through local plans or neighbourhood plans.

Call for sites

When sites are submitted through the 'Call for Sites' process we will technically assess them against the HELAA to determine their potential suitability for inclusion in the Local Plan.

View a list of previously submitted sites.

When the site assessment process has been completed, we will work and consult with local communities to consider how sites which have passed through the HELAA process, fit with the preferred spatial strategy to accommodate future planned growth in the borough.

The preferred spatial strategy will form part of a draft Local Plan which will be the subject of a future public consultation known as a Regulation 18 consultation. 

Find out more about how to get involved in future consultations.