Selling Land in Rochford District

The final draft plan put to councillors in September 2026 runs from April 2026 to March 2043. Its policy MG1 provides for at least 11,710 homes, stepped at 370 a year to 2032/33 and 912 a year from 2033/34. As published, it rested on six strategic allocations, shown here with the homes the council's draft trajectory expected from each by 2043:

• Land north of Southend and south of Rochford (SR01), the largest, at 1,645 homes.
• Dollymans Farm (SR02), at 1,004 homes.
• Land west of Wolsey Park, Rayleigh (SR03), at 737 homes.
• Land east of Rochford and Ashingdon (SR04), put at 1,000 homes in the council's papers.
• Lubards Lodge Farm, Rayleigh (SR05), at 550 homes.
• Tithe Park, Great Wakering (SR06), at 950 homes.

Around these, the council's draft trajectory for the September meeting lists 25 smaller residential sites, from 10 homes to 280, across the main towns and the Wakerings, with a single site of 14 in Canewdon. Some are previously developed, such as Nevenden Salvage Yard in Hullbridge.

What Councillors Changed

Before the meeting, a member reference group of councillors proposed removing land east of Rochford and Ashingdon and three smaller sites on highway grounds, plus land south of Pooles Lane, Hullbridge (480 homes), and bringing in previously developed sites such as Limehouse Nursery (133) and Stambridge Mills (120). The addendum setting this out put provision at 9,905 homes, which it described as 85% of the need set by the government, and warned that this would come under very significant scrutiny at examination.

The extraordinary council meeting on 23 September then went further. It approved the plan for consultation by 13 votes to none, with 19 abstentions, subject to the group's changes and to the removal of all six strategic allocations, SR01 to SR06. The plan will be updated before a six-week consultation, dates to be confirmed.

Working the Numbers

The council has not yet published a new total, but its papers show the scale. Its trajectory after the group's changes counted 4,886 homes on the five remaining strategic sites. Taking them out of the 9,905 leaves about 5,019, some 43% of the 11,710 the draft itself says are needed, unless other land is added when the plan is updated. An inspector will test whether a plan at that level is sound, and could ask for more land or find it unsound. Either way, sites taken out may come back, and land never in the draft may be argued for.

The final draft counts around 12,000 hectares of inland and marine habitats of international importance, mostly along the coast and eastern estuaries, and more than 15% of the land under at least one wildlife designation. Wallasea Island is an RSPB reserve, and Foulness is an active Ministry of Defence site.

Flooding comes with that coast. The draft states that over 40% of the district's land is at more than a 1 in 1,000 annual chance of flooding, and warns that rising sea levels threaten the coastline. On a mixed site, homes go on the higher ground. Our flood risk guide explains the sequential test behind that.

The Essex Coast Payment

The whole district lies within the zone of influence of the Essex Coast Recreational disturbance Avoidance and Mitigation Strategy, which protects the coast's birds from visitor pressure. From 1 August 2026 the council charges £476 per new home, up from £175.55. We build it into our figures; the landowner never pays it.

Submission, and the Extension Request

Plans prepared under the current system must be submitted by 31 December 2026. In early September 2026 the council said its Planning Policy Committee had agreed to ask for eight more weeks, to 26 February 2027, and its report for 23 September recorded no reply yet. That report warns that missing the deadline could mean starting again under the new system, taking at least 34 months. The council's published timeline aims for adoption in winter 2027 or early 2028.

What Adoption Would Change

The September report put the five-year requirement on adoption at 1,943 homes including the buffer, built on the stepped 370 a year rather than 689. That was worked out on the draft as published, before the strategic sites came out, so the trajectory may well change. We make no forecast, but the shortfall route is at its strongest before adoption.

The Call for Sites and the Next Supply Statement

The council's call for sites stays open until 10 December 2026. Its priority window has closed, and later submissions are not guaranteed to be assessed for this plan. The January 2026 statement gives no date for its successor.

The Delivery Test and Reorganisation

The Housing Delivery Test 2025 came out on 17 August 2026, and the government publishes a new edition every year. At 111%, only a very steep fall would add a buffer or an action plan, so supply matters far more here. On 7 September 2026 the government withdrew its decisions on reorganising councils in Essex, citing new legal advice, and launched a review, with next May's elections going ahead on existing boundaries. Rochford District Council remains in charge of its plan.

What This Means for Timing

• Grey belt and previously developed land can be looked at now, while the shortfall is at 1.97 years and the plan is unadopted.
• Land left out of the draft, or taken out late, is best prepared for the consultation and the examination that follows.
• Not sure which applies? Our how it works page sets out the first steps.