Essex council area

Selling Land in Epping Forest

Epping Forest District adopted a new local plan in 2023, yet it delivered only two thirds of the homes it needed and cannot show a five-year supply. Almost the whole district is Green Belt, and the ancient forest at its heart brings costs and checks of its own.

Free review of your land in Epping Forest

We pay for the planning, at our own cost and risk
Your price is agreed up front, in writing
If planning is refused, you keep your land and owe nothing

Epping Forest District at a Glance

The district runs from the edge of north east London, through Loughton, Buckhurst Hill and Chigwell, to Epping, Waltham Abbey and Chipping Ongar and a wide rural area beyond. Its two main river valleys are the Lee and the Roding. The M25 crosses it with an interchange at Waltham Abbey, and the M11 has junctions at Loughton and Hastingwood. The south and west are well connected to London, while the north and east are more rural and more isolated.

Two thirds of the homes it needed. The council delivered 999 homes against a requirement of 1,509 in the Housing Delivery Test 2025, a result of 66%.
A plan adopted in March 2023. The Local Plan covers 2011 to 2033. The council's 2016 draft put the need at approximately 11,400 homes, and local reporting at adoption put the homes the plan provides for at about 12,199.
Green Belt almost everywhere. About 92% of the district is Metropolitan Green Belt. The 2023 plan removed just under 590 hectares from it, reported at the time as 1.86% of the district's Green Belt.
Short of a five-year supply. The council's own statement at 1 April 2025 puts its housing land supply at 4.22 years.
Eight Underground stations. The Central line stops at Epping, its eastern terminus, and at Theydon Bois, Debden, Loughton, Buckhurst Hill, Roding Valley, Chigwell and Grange Hill. The one National Rail station is Roydon, on the line from Liverpool Street to Stansted and Cambridge.

A district with a recent plan would usually be the last place to expect a shortfall. Here the plan, the forest and the Green Belt all pull in different directions, and knowing which one applies to a given field is the starting point.

Epping Forest in Figures

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

Housing Delivery Test 2025
66%
Below 75%: treated as having evidenced unmet housing need under national policy S5.
Homes built against homes needed
999
of 1,509 needed, April 2022 to March 2025
Most recent strategic plan adopted
March 2023
The plan currently used to decide applications.
New plan progress
Updated
Plan adopted March 2023 is due to be reviewed by March 2028
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 a New Plan Has Not Closed the Gap

The council's own Housing Action Plan, published in August 2025, explains the delay. Between June 2018 and spring 2021 a moratorium held back planning permissions, because of concerns about air pollution harming the Epping Forest Special Area of Conservation. Permissions granted since then take years to become completed homes, and the largest sites in the plan have been slow to start.

Much of the 2023 plan relies on large strategic sites. Around 400 hectares are set aside for garden communities on the edge of Harlow, among them Latton Priory and East of Harlow, as part of the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town, and about 130 hectares for masterplan areas such as South of Epping, North Weald Bassett and Waltham Abbey North. The council's latest supply statement records that the outline planning application for Latton Priory was still awaiting a decision, and the council itself names slow build-out on large sites as a risk.

A stepped requirement. The council plans for around 500 homes a year to 2026/27, rising to 980 a year from 2027/28.
A 20% buffer. Because delivery has fallen short, a buffer is added to the supply it must show.
Unmet need in national policy. The 66% result means the district is treated as having evidenced unmet housing need, and the supply shortfall is further evidence of it.
A review within five years. National policy expects plans to be reviewed at least every five years, which for a plan adopted on 6 March 2023 points to March 2028.

Much of the gap sits with the big Harlow sites, which come with their own roads and schools to build before many homes can follow. That is why a modest field on the edge of Epping, Ongar or North Weald Bassett, able to start soon after permission, can carry more weight with the council than its size suggests.

Epping Forest SAC: What Every New Home Pays For

Epping Forest itself is a Special Area of Conservation, managed by the City of London as its conservators. Two separate pressures on it are managed through the planning system, and both apply to new homes in large parts of the district.

Figures from the council's guidance for applicants. Check the current rates before relying on them.
Pressure	How it is handled	Cost per new home
Visitors walking dogs, cycling and wearing paths	A strategic access management and monitoring payment, for net new homes within 6.2 km of the forest	£1,852.63 within 3 km, and £343.02 between 3 and 6.2 km, as agreed by the council's Cabinet on 11 April 2022
Traffic fumes, mainly nitrogen oxides and ammonia from vehicles on roads through and beside the forest	Contributions under the interim air pollution mitigation strategy, secured through a section 106 agreement	Set by the strategy according to where the site is

The Local Government Association describes the air pollution strategy as one of the first strategic schemes in the UK aimed specifically at traffic pollution on a Special Area of Conservation. It keeps a clean air zone, covering roads in and beside the forest, in reserve, to be brought in only if monitoring shows emissions staying above safe levels. The council's guidance is blunt about why: even one additional vehicle can add to the pollution reaching the forest.

These payments come out of the value of a housing scheme, alongside affordable housing and the other contributions explained in our guide to section 106 and CIL. They are part of the planning work we carry out and pay for, and we account for them from the first review.

Green Belt, Grey Belt and the Central Line

Within the built-up areas of the towns and larger villages, a plot already has national policy S4 on its side. Step past that line and the 66% result stops counting for much, because the S5 shortfall route does not reach Green Belt land. Open fields here have three realistic ways forward:

Grey belt. On the London side of the district, around Loughton, Buckhurst Hill and Chigwell, land often matters for holding back the capital's outward spread, and that is hard to overcome. Further out, between Epping, North Weald Bassett and Ongar, the question is more often whether a field keeps two settlements from meeting. The grey belt guide sets out each purpose.
Stations. With eight Central line stops in the district, policy L3 matters more here than almost anywhere else in Essex. It now favours denser housing within an easy walk of a stop with a good service, including on some Green Belt land. Commentators suggest around 800 metres, so a field on the edge of Theydon Bois or Debden could be in range even though it looks rural.
Previously developed land. Commercial yards, depots and land with lawful non-agricultural buildings have their own route in Green Belt policy.

Land that meets none of these will usually need to come forward through the plan review, which will be prepared against the government's current method for calculating housing need.

Glasshouses and the Lee Valley

The western part of the district has long been part of the Lee Valley glasshouse industry, with glasshouse horticulture most prominent around Roydon and Nazeing. Most of the western edge, apart from the built-up areas of Waltham Abbey and Nazeing, lies within the Lee Valley Regional Park. Many owners here hold former nurseries, packing sheds and yards that have changed use over the years.

The planning position of these sites depends on their lawful use. Glasshouses used for growing are agricultural buildings, which national policy does not treat as previously developed land. A yard or building that has been in lawful commercial use for long enough, on the other hand, may well qualify. Land on the valley floor should also be checked against the flood maps early, as our flood risk guide explains.

We check the planning history and lawful use of each part of a site before advising, and we pay for any evidence needed to establish it.

The Land We Look for in Epping Forest District

Land within walking distance of a Central line station, or of Roydon.
Yards, depots and former nurseries with lawful commercial use.
Fields enclosed by existing homes or roads on the edge of Epping, Ongar, Waltham Abbey, North Weald Bassett or the Loughton area.
Sites that can be built without major new infrastructure, since quick delivery counts for more here.
Land with a road frontage, or a clear route to one.

Near the forest, the planning work includes an assessment of the effects on the SAC as well as the usual surveys, and on a Lee Valley site it may need a lawful use certificate first. We agree a fixed price with you at the start and pay for all of it, through the application and any appeal. A refusal leaves the land with you and nothing to pay. The sequence from first review to completion is described on our how it works page.

Questions About Land in Epping Forest District

The council has an adopted plan. Why does its low delivery matter?

Because national policy looks at delivery and supply as well as whether a plan exists. At 66% and with less than five years of supply, the district is treated as having unmet need, which carries weight for well-located land that is not protected by Green Belt policy.

My land is within 3 km of the forest. Does that make it harder?

It adds a cost per home and an assessment of the effects on the forest, but it does not rule land out. The payments exist so that homes can go ahead, and they are a routine part of applications across the district.

I own a former nursery near Nazeing. Is that brownfield land?

Not if the glasshouses were used for growing crops, because agricultural buildings are excluded. If parts of the site have a lawful commercial use, those parts may count. We check the history for you.

Does being near Epping or Theydon Bois station help?

It can. National policy now supports homes near well-connected stations, including in some Green Belt locations. Whether it applies depends on the distance, the service and the site.

Is it worth waiting for the plan review?

For some land, yes, and for other land a planning application now is the stronger route. We tell you which we recommend, and why, before you agree anything.

Tell Us About Your Land in Epping Forest

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.