Essex council area

Selling Land in Braintree District

Braintree District builds well ahead of its target, has no Green Belt and published the final draft of its Local Plan 2043 in September 2026. For owners of land around Braintree, Witham, Halstead and the villages, the next few months will shape the case the inspector hears.

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Three Towns, Open Countryside and No Green Belt

Braintree District Council covers the towns of Braintree, Witham and Halstead and a large rural area of villages, from Coggeshall, Kelvedon and Feering along the A12 to Earls Colne and Sible Hedingham in the north. The draft plan names the three towns as its main settlements, followed by key service villages: Coggeshall, Earls Colne, Hatfield Peverel, Kelvedon with Feering, and Sible Hedingham.

Well ahead on delivery. The council built 3,232 homes against 2,154 needed in the Housing Delivery Test 2025, a result of 150%.
No Green Belt. A note by the North Essex authorities on Green Belt around the proposed garden communities, prepared for their shared strategic plan, records that none of Braintree, Colchester or Tendring has any Green Belt.
A plan in two parts. Section 1, a strategic plan shared with Colchester and Tendring, was adopted in February 2021. Section 2, with Braintree's own sites and policies, followed, and the Local Plan 2033 replaced the old 2005 plan on 25 July 2022.
A final draft out for comment. The Local Plan 2043 is open for comment until 5pm on 6 November 2026, and the council aims to submit it in December.
Neighbourhood plans in force. The council lists nine as part of its development plan, including Coggeshall, Kelvedon, Feering, Hatfield Peverel, Cressing, Earls Colne and Steeple Bumpstead.

This is a district where the council has been building strongly for several years. The question for land here is less whether homes are needed than where the next wave will go.

Braintree District in Figures

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

Housing Delivery Test 2025
150%
Meeting its housing requirement.
Homes built against homes needed
3,232
of 2,154 needed, April 2022 to March 2025
Most recent strategic plan adopted
February 2021
More than five years old, so its housing figures are usually replaced by the government's standard method.
New plan progress
Updated
Final draft Local Plan 2043 open for comment 23 September to 6 November 2026; submission planned December 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.

A Land Supply Measured Against a Higher Figure

The council's latest published five-year supply report, which takes account of the December 2024 changes to national policy, covers 2024 to 2029 from a base of 31 March 2024. It measured supply against the Section 1 requirement of 716 homes a year and found 5.32 years:

From the council's Housing Delivery and Five Year Supply report, 2024 to 2029.
Step in the council's calculation	Homes
Five years at 716 a year	3,580
Shortfall carried forward from 2013 to 2024	300
5% buffer	194
Five-year requirement	4,074
Deliverable supply identified	4,334

Completions have run well above 716 a year: 847 in 2020/21, then 1,081, 1,088 and 1,145 in the three years to March 2024, which cut the backlog carried forward from 1,517 homes in 2021 to 300.

Why the Next Statement Matters

The same report explains that the council would keep using its own figure until Section 1 was five years old, in February 2026. That date has passed. The draft plan now gives the government's standard method for Braintree, as at 2026, as 1,133 homes a year, which is far higher than 716.

The council's supply page, last updated in January 2025, still lists the 2024 to 2029 statement as its latest. The next one will be the first measured against the higher figure. We make no prediction about it. If it showed less than five years, the August 2026 National Planning Policy Framework would treat that as evidence of unmet need, and because Braintree has no Green Belt, policy S5 could then reach the edge of every town and village. If it showed five years or more, the plan remains the main route for larger sites.

The Local Plan 2043 and Its Growth Locations

Policy LPR 17 of the submission draft commits the council to a minimum of 19,261 new homes between 2026 and 2043. Existing commitments from the current plan and planning permissions account for 8,204 of them, non-strategic allocations for 2,945, and the council allows 75 windfall homes a year. The rest comes from ten strategic growth locations:

From policy LPR 17 of the Regulation 19 submission draft, September 2026. Figures may change at examination.
Growth location	Homes in total	Of which by 2043
Kings Dene, north, west and south west of Kelvedon	5,600	2,250
Land East of Halstead	2,850	2,850
East of Braintree	2,660	1,900
Hayeswood, East of Great Notley	1,750	1,750
Land North of the A12, Hatfield Peverel	1,150	1,150
Land East of Broad Road, Braintree	1,000	1,000
Land South East Feering	835	835
North West Braintree, Panfield Lane	825	825
Former Towerlands Park site, Braintree	575	575
Wood End Farm, Witham	400	400

Two themes stand out. The A12 corridor, between Kelvedon, Feering and Hatfield Peverel, takes a large share, and Kings Dene alone is planned for 5,600 homes over a period running well beyond 2043. Braintree town grows on several fronts at once, while the plan ties 2,850 homes east of Halstead to the provision of a link road.

Two Housing Figures, and Which One Counts

The council's consultation page speaks of a government target of 17,460 houses over the life of the plan. The submission draft itself sets 19,261 homes from 2026 to 2043, working from 1,133 homes a year. The page does not explain its figure, and the standard method is recalculated as new household and affordability data appear, so the two may reflect different points in time. For a landowner the draft is what matters: it is the document the inspector will examine, and either figure is well above the 716 a year of the current plan.

Routes for Land the Plan Does Not Name

Most land in the district is not in a growth location, and a council meeting its targets gives less room for speculative applications. That does not close the door. The routes that remain are:

Representations on the final draft. Land put forward to the council for the review but left out of the draft can be argued for now, in writing, and later before the inspector. A strong case compares the site with the chosen ones on access, drainage, landscape and deliverability.
Sites inside development boundaries. The draft says schemes of fewer than 10 homes within development boundaries are not allocated but can still come forward. Inside a settlement, national policy S4 supports homes unless the harm would substantially exceed the benefits.
Rural exception, self-build and hamlet infill. The draft plan carries policies for self and custom build housing (LPR 37) and infill development in hamlets (LPR 43), and it leaves rural exception sites to come forward without allocation.
Neighbourhood plans. Where a parish has its own plan, its sites and settlement boundaries carry weight, and a review of that plan can be another way in.

Outside development boundaries, the draft limits development to the types national policy allows, so a field beyond the edge of a village generally needs one of these routes, or a change in the supply position, to succeed. Our guide to call for sites and local plans covers how representations and examinations work.

The Land We Look for in Braintree District

Land next to Braintree, Witham or Halstead, with a road frontage or a realistic access.
Fields adjoining the key service villages, especially where a neighbourhood plan is due for review.
Land close to the growth locations, which may complement them or serve a later phase.
Farmyards, old commercial units and other previously developed land in or beside a village.
Larger holdings along the A12 corridor, and around Witham, which the draft plan describes as well connected by the A12 and the Great Eastern Main Line.

Where we see promise, the terms are straightforward. We agree a fixed price at the outset, above what the land is worth today, and carry every planning cost and risk ourselves, from the first surveys to any appeal. If permission is granted we complete and you receive that price; if not, the land stays yours and you owe nothing. You keep farming or letting it throughout, and our page on farmland explains what we look for in agricultural land.

Braintree's Road to an Adopted Plan

Consultation, Then Submission

The council's timetable, updated in September 2026, runs the Regulation 19 consultation from 23 September to 6 November 2026, with submission to the Planning Inspectorate in December 2026 and adoption in June 2027. It follows an issues and options consultation in early 2025 and a preferred options draft from 3 March to 17 April 2026. Six months from submission to adoption is a demanding timetable for a plan of this size, so the inspector's programme, once set, will show how realistic it is.

The Next Delivery Test

The government publishes the Housing Delivery Test each year, and the Housing Delivery Test 2025 came out on 17 August 2026, covering April 2022 to March 2025. At 150%, Braintree sits far above every threshold: only a result under 95% would bring an action plan, and only one under 85% a buffer. For landowners here, the test is not the figure to watch.

The Supply Roll-Forward

This is the figure to watch. The first statement measured against 1,133 homes a year will show whether the district still has five years of land. If it does not, applications on well placed land outside the growth locations would gain real weight, even while the plan is examined. If it does, the examination becomes the main arena.

Reorganisation, Paused

The government withdrew its Greater Essex reorganisation decision on 7 September 2026 and has begun a review. Elections in May 2027 will be held on existing boundaries, so Braintree District Council remains the planning authority taking the plan forward.

What This Means for Timing

For land not in the draft, the weeks to 6 November 2026 are the time to have a case on record, and the hearings expected in 2027 are where it would be argued. For land in or beside a growth location, the work is evidence that helps the site deliver. For small sites inside a village, nothing needs to wait. Our how it works page shows what happens at each stage.

Questions About Land in Braintree District

Braintree is building more than its target. Is my land still worth anything for development?

It can be. Strong delivery means the council leans on its plan, so the question is whether your land fits the plan or one of the routes around it. We look at land in every council, whatever its score.

My land was put forward for the plan review but is not in the final draft. What now?

Representations on the final draft close on 6 November 2026. After that, the inspector decides whether the plan is sound and can ask for changes, including more sites. Evidence prepared now is what counts at that stage.

Does it help that there is no Green Belt here?

Yes. Land outside a village is judged on landscape, access and the plan, not on Green Belt tests, and if the supply ever falls short of five years, policy S5 can reach every settlement edge in the district.

I farm near Kelvedon. Does Kings Dene affect me?

It may. A development of 5,600 homes changes roads, schools and the edge of the village over many years, and land beside it can sometimes support a later phase or the infrastructure. We would look at your land against the growth location's boundaries.

Should I wait until the new plan is adopted?

Waiting can mean missing the stage where your land can still be argued in. The council aims to adopt in mid 2027, but sites are largely settled at examination, so the useful work happens before then.

Tell Us About Your Land in Braintree District

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Sources

Figures on this page come from the Housing Delivery Test 2025 (published 17 August 2026) and the Planning Inspectorate's local plan monitoring to August 2026, with newer plan milestones checked on 24 September 2026. We update the page when new results or plan milestones are published. Planning positions change quickly, so always check the council's own website before relying on it.