Derbyshire council area

Selling Land in Erewash

Erewash sits between Derby and Nottingham, and its council counts Long Eaton as part of the Nottingham conurbation. Its delivery came to 49% of the requirement in the latest Housing Delivery Test, its plan review was withdrawn in January 2026 after an inspector found it unsound, and most of its open land is Green Belt, so the grey belt test is doing much of the work.

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Erewash at a Glance

Erewash Borough Council runs the two towns of Ilkeston and Long Eaton. The council's plan papers treat Long Eaton, Sandiacre and Sawley together as the Long Eaton Urban Area and count it as part of the Nottingham conurbation, and they name Borrowash, Breaston, Draycott, Little Eaton and West Hallam as the key villages. The borough is bounded to the east, south and west by three rivers: the Erewash, which gives it its name, the Trent and the Derwent.

49% in the Housing Delivery Test 2025. 565 homes were delivered against a requirement of 1,146, the lowest result in Derbyshire.
Over 70% Green Belt. That is the council's own figure: nearly all of its countryside is Green Belt.
A 2014 plan and a withdrawn review. The Core Strategy dates from March 2014. Councillors voted on 22 January 2026 to withdraw the review that had been under examination.
A new plan started. The scoping consultation, the first of three planned public stages, ran from 22 June to 19 July 2026, and local reporting of council papers puts adoption in February 2029.
A new council on the way. Under the government's decision of 16 July 2026, Erewash will join Derby, South Derbyshire and 14 parishes from Amber Valley in a new unitary council for the south of the county.

The need is real and the council knows it: its lead member for planning, Cllr Curtis Howard, has spoken of a legal and moral duty to deliver homes. The difficulty is where they can go in a borough so tightly wrapped in Green Belt.

Why Older Papers Quote 67%

The council's own March 2025 report on the plan review acknowledged that Erewash had failed the Housing Delivery Test every year since it was introduced in 2018, and quoted a result of 67% from the measurement then available. The 49% shown here comes from the latest measurement, released in August 2026, which runs from April 2022 to March 2025. The two are not in conflict. They measure different three-year periods, and the newer one shows delivery falling further behind.

Erewash in Figures

The government's latest figures for the council, and where its local plan stands.

Housing Delivery Test 2025
49%
Below 75%: treated as having evidenced unmet housing need under national policy S5.
Homes built against homes needed
565
of 1,146 needed, April 2022 to March 2025
Most recent strategic plan adopted
March 2014
More than five years old, so its housing figures are usually replaced by the government's standard method.
New plan progress
Updated
Core Strategy Review withdrawn January 2026; new plan scoping consultation June to July 2026
Checked source

Sources: Housing Delivery Test: 2025 measurement, MHCLG, published 17 August 2026; Local plans: monitoring progress, Planning Inspectorate, August 2026. Local plans move quickly, so always check the council's own website for the latest position.

Why the Core Strategy Review Was Withdrawn

By the time it was withdrawn, the review planned for 7,044 homes by 2040, as local reporting described it. During examination the government's figure for Erewash rose from 376 to 523 homes a year, and the council added further Green Belt land around Sandiacre, Breadsall Hilltop, Borrowash, Breaston, Draycott and West Hallam. In late 2025 the inspector, Kelly Ford, concluded the plan was unsound, citing a shortfall of around 820 homes, a Green Belt assessment that lacked clarity, and a proposal to add 67 acres to the Green Belt that had been dropped without explanation. She gave the council the choice of withdrawing or having the plan found unsound, and it withdrew.

That history matters for landowners in three ways:

The draft sites carry no weight now. Allocations in a withdrawn plan have no status. Land that was in it and land that was not are back on the same footing.
A fuller Green Belt review is coming. The inspector's criticism means the new plan will need a more thorough assessment of every parcel. Land with good evidence behind it can be put in front of that review.
The need figure has gone up. At 523 homes a year, the council must find more land than before, and it has already accepted that Green Belt land will play a part.

Our guide to call for sites and local plans describes how a site is carried through the stages of a new plan. For Erewash, the next public stage will be the draft plan that follows the scoping report.

Grey Belt While the Borough Has No Up-to-Date Plan

Scoring under 75% counts, in national policy, as proof that homes are needed here, and policy S5 of the NPPF published in August 2026 then allows approval of well placed sites outside settlements. That route does not reach Green Belt land, and with over 70% of the borough in it, the S5 route mainly helps land inside Ilkeston, Long Eaton and the villages drawn out of the Green Belt, and the small amount of countryside that is not designated.

For the rest, grey belt is the live question. Council papers reported in June 2026 put the borough about 1,500 homes short of its five-year supply of 2,615, and recognised that around 1,500 homes could therefore gain permission in the Green Belt before any new allocations are made. In other words, the council itself expects some grey belt applications to succeed. The same report named Green Belt schemes already being put forward, among them 150 homes at Bostocks Lane, Risley, 100 at Larch Drive, Sandiacre, and 100 on the Western Mere School site at Breaston, with further phases proposed there.

Whether a field qualifies depends on how much it contributes to three purposes: checking the sprawl of Nottingham and Derby, stopping towns merging, and protecting historic towns. In Erewash, where the towns and villages sit between two cities, the second purpose is often the sharp one, and land that keeps a narrow gap open is unlikely to count. A field already bounded by housing, the M1, a railway or a main road is a different matter.

Grey belt homes must also meet the Golden Rules: a higher share of affordable housing, the infrastructure needed, and new green space the public can use. We allow for those costs when we first assess the site, before any price is agreed. See our grey belt guide for how each purpose is judged.

Stanton and Other Previously Developed Land

The withdrawn review's main brownfield allocation was the former Stanton Ironworks. The council has said it and the landowner have regarded the land as suitable and available for housing for more than a decade, and the review proposed about 1,000 homes there as a new settlement, subject to comprehensive remediation. How it is treated in the new plan is not yet decided.

Smaller previously developed sites matter too. Former works, depots, yards and redundant commercial units in the Green Belt can be developed under national policy where the effect on openness is acceptable, and they can count as grey belt. Farm buildings in agricultural use do not count as previously developed, although other routes may apply to them. If you own a yard or depot, our page on brownfield land and yards sets out what we look for.

Three Rivers, Two Stations and a Motorway

Local factor	Effect on a site
The Erewash to the east, the Trent to the south and the Derwent to the west	The borough is bounded by all three. Flood risk in Long Eaton and Sawley is managed by the Trent Left Bank defence scheme, and land in Flood Zones 2 and 3 faces the sequential test. Our flood risk guide explains that test.
Ilkeston station, reopened in 2017, and Long Eaton station	Ilkeston now has direct trains to Nottingham, Sheffield and Leeds, and Long Eaton to Nottingham, Derby, Sheffield, Birmingham and London. National policy favours homes within a reasonable walk of well-connected stations.
Junction 25, where the M1 meets the A52, next to Sandiacre	Strong road links drive demand. Noise and junction capacity can affect layouts on nearby fields.
The Erewash Canal, with National Cycle Route 67 on its towpath, and conservation areas such as Sandiacre Cloudside and West Hallam	The withdrawn review asked for sympathetic layouts beside both conservation areas. Setting and heritage shape design more often than they rule a site out.

Each of these is covered in our free review of your land, before any agreement is made.

What We Look for in Erewash

Green Belt fields on the edge of Ilkeston, Long Eaton, Sandiacre, Borrowash, Breaston, Draycott or West Hallam that are already enclosed by development or roads.
Previously developed land, including old industrial sites, depots and yards, in or outside the Green Belt.
Land within walking distance of Ilkeston or Long Eaton stations.
Sites in the few parts of the borough outside the Green Belt, where the unmet need route applies.
Gardens, plots and backland inside the towns and the villages drawn out of the Green Belt, where policy S4 applies.
Holdings with safe road access that are away from the Trent and Derwent flood plains, or large enough to keep homes on the dry ground.

A field that sits in the thin gap between two settlements faces the hardest test, and our review will say so plainly. Where we agree to go ahead, the price is fixed at the start, set above what the land is worth today, and we pay for all of the planning work. Our agreement stays in place while any application or appeal is being decided.

Questions From Landowners in Erewash

My land was one of the sites in the withdrawn plan. Does it still count for anything?

Not as an allocation. The plan was withdrawn, so its sites carry no weight. The evidence gathered for your land is still useful, and it can be updated and put forward to the new plan or used in support of an application.

With delivery at 49%, why would Green Belt land here not simply be approved?

Because the unmet need route in national policy does not apply in the Green Belt. Instead, a field needs to count as grey belt, or as previously developed land, with a scheme on it that meets the Golden Rules. The low score still counts in the wider balance.

Who will decide applications once the new council is created?

Erewash Borough Council remains the planning authority until the new southern Derbyshire council takes over. Adopted plans normally stay in force until they are replaced, so the change of council does not by itself change the policies that apply. Local reporting in June 2026 expected the borough council to be replaced in 2028, before the new plan's target adoption in February 2029, so the plan is likely to be finished by its successor.

Is it too early to do anything while the new plan is only at scoping?

No. The council is now gathering evidence, including a fuller Green Belt review, and sites with their surveys and technical work ready are easier to assess. Some land may also be able to go forward through an application under national policy in the meantime.

Part of my land is near the Trent at Sawley. Does the flood defence help?

It reduces risk to the land behind it, but defended land is still mapped in the flood zones and still faces the sequential test. We check the Environment Agency data and the council's flood evidence for your field as part of our first look.

Tell Us About Your Land in Erewash

It takes about two minutes. We only need your postcode, your name and a phone number or email; the rest helps us look properly. We reply within 2 working days, in confidence.

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Sources

We update this page when new Housing Delivery Test results or local plan milestones are published. Planning positions change quickly, so always check the council's own website before relying on it.