Gloucestershire council area

Selling Land in Cotswold District

Four fifths of Cotswold District lies in the Cotswolds National Landscape, yet the government now expects it to plan for more than twice as many homes a year as before. The council's answer, a final draft Local Plan to 2043 out for comment until 3 November 2026, puts almost all new building on the land outside the protected area.

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Cotswold District at a Glance

The adopted Local Plan describes a district of about 450 square miles with the lowest population density in Gloucestershire. Cirencester is the main town, and the smaller towns include Tetbury, Chipping Campden, Moreton-in-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold, Northleach, Bourton-on-the-Water, Fairford and Lechlade, with a large number of villages around them.

Delivery at 68%. The Housing Delivery Test 2025 recorded 945 homes against a requirement of 1,392.
An adopted plan from August 2018. The Local Plan 2011 to 2031 set a requirement of at least 8,400 homes.
The need has doubled. The council says the government's method now asks for 1,036 homes a year.
The widest protected landscape of any district. The adopted plan records that 80% of the district is in the Cotswolds National Landscape, more than any other district in England.
A new plan close to submission. The final draft Local Plan 2026 to 2043 says around 18,900 homes could be delivered, and the council intends to submit it for examination by the end of December 2026.

That combination is why the council has concentrated growth in a small number of large sites. For owners of land outside the National Landscape, it also means an unusually clear view of where the council itself thinks growth belongs.

Cotswold District in Figures

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

Housing Delivery Test 2025
68%
Below 75%: treated as having evidenced unmet housing need under national policy S5.
Homes built against homes needed
945
of 1,392 needed, April 2022 to March 2025
Most recent strategic plan adopted
August 2018
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 2026 to 2043 out for consultation, 24 August to 3 November 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.

Inside or Outside the National Landscape

The boundary of the National Landscape runs across the district, and a site on one side of it can have very different prospects from its neighbour on the other. Inside it, the protection of natural beauty carries great weight in every decision, and major schemes need exceptional circumstances and a clear public interest. Unmet need on its own does not meet that bar.

Outside, the picture is much more open. The council says around 95% of the development proposed in its new plan is outside the National Landscape, with development inside it limited to smaller, less sensitive sites. Its ten strategic sites, listed below, show where the council expects most of that growth to go.

Land Just Outside the Boundary

Fields next to the boundary are judged partly on how they affect the setting of the protected landscape: long views from the wolds, the approach to a market town, and how the edge of a village is seen. That rarely rules a site out, but it shapes how many homes fit and where the open space goes. Early landscape work, which we commission and pay for, usually decides the layout.

Since the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, public bodies, councils included, have had a firmer duty to seek to further the purpose of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of National Landscapes. The Cotswolds National Landscape Board publishes its own planning advice and planning responses. We design with that duty in mind, so the schemes we put forward try to give something back, such as new hedgerows, restored dry stone walls, woodland planting or new paths into the countryside, rather than only trying to avoid harm.

The Local Plan 2026 to 2043

The council published its final draft plan in July 2026 and extended the consultation to 3 November 2026 after releasing extra evidence.

The council says around 18,900 homes could be delivered over the seventeen years. Around 90% of the new development is on strategic sites of 350 homes or more, each with schools, health, transport and open space planned alongside. The council also proposes a 40% affordable housing target on qualifying sites. It expects to submit the plan by the end of December 2026, with examination in 2027 and adoption around March 2028.

Source: Cotswold District Council, July 2026. Figures are the council's proposals and may change at examination.
Proposed strategic site	Homes in the plan period
Moreton-in-Marsh	2,217
Down Ampney	1,658
Preston, near Cirencester	1,368
Mickleton	1,238
Fairford	1,141
New settlement south of Driffield	1,090, with potential for more beyond 2043
Kemble	1,020
Cirencester, east of Kingshill Lane	613
Cirencester, south of The Steadings	585
Siddington	372

New secondary schools are proposed at Moreton-in-Marsh and south of Preston. The scale is not new to the district: the 2018 plan allocated up to 2,350 homes on 120 hectares at Chesterton, about 1.3km south of Cirencester town centre.

Why You May See 18,660 Homes Elsewhere

Readers of the council's earlier material will find a different total. In October 2025 the council published figures based on the government's method of 1,036 homes a year, giving a requirement of 18,660 homes over the eighteen years from 2025 to 2043. The July 2026 final draft instead speaks of around 18,900 homes that could be delivered between 2026 and 2043. The two numbers measure different things over different periods: the first is the need the plan must answer, the second is the supply the plan says its sites and other sources can provide. For a landowner the practical point is the same either way. The council has put almost all of that supply on a handful of large sites, so land outside them needs a case of its own, made on evidence.

If Your Land Is Near a Proposed Site

Land beside a strategic site can gain from the roads, drainage and services it brings, but it can also end up as the open space or landscape buffer around it. Much depends on how the developers of that site and the council draw the final boundaries. If your land adjoins one of these areas, it is worth understanding where it sits before the examination begins.

The 68% Result and the Rest of the District

Until the new plan is adopted, the 2018 plan and national policy decide applications. With delivery below 75%, national policy S5 treats unmet housing need as proven, so land beyond a settlement boundary can be approved if it relates well to an existing settlement, the scale can be served, and the harm does not substantially outweigh the benefits. In Cotswold District that route is strongest outside the National Landscape.

The 2018 plan named seventeen Principal Settlements, from Cirencester and Tetbury to Andoversford, Blockley, Down Ampney, Kemble, South Cerney, Upper Rissington and Willersey. Those are the places where edge-of-settlement land has the clearest case, because the council has already accepted they can take growth.

There is almost no Green Belt. The adopted plan records just one small area, at Ullenwood, in Coberley parish, on the edge of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Green Belt. Everywhere else it is the National Landscape, heritage and flood risk that do the work.

Water, Stone and Heritage

Local issue	How it affects a site
The Cotswold Water Park	The adopted plan calls it the largest area of man-made lakes in the UK, created by sand and gravel extraction and covering about 40 square miles, 33 of them in Cotswold District. We check ground conditions and any remaining mineral interest early.
Flood risk	The adopted plan names the upper Thames valley, which includes the Water Park, as the part of the district at greatest risk of flooding. See our flood risk guide.
Conservation areas and listed buildings	The adopted plan counts 144 conservation areas, more than any other district in England, and 4,991 entries on the statutory list, second only to the City of Westminster. Their setting shapes layout, heights and materials rather than always ruling a site out.
Cotswold Beechwoods	Most visitors to this protected woodland come from within 15.4km, so new homes inside that zone pay a set mitigation contribution, £771.79 per home in the council's current guidance, plus an administration fee. It is allowed for in the scheme.
Stations	The district has just two: Kemble, on the Swindon to Gloucester line, and Moreton-in-Marsh, on the Oxford to Worcester line. Both towns have proposed strategic sites, and national policy supports homes within walking distance of well-served stations.

None of these is a reason to walk away from a site. They are the questions we answer in the desktop review before anyone sets foot on the land.

Land We Are Interested in Across the Cotswolds

Fields next to one of the Principal Settlements, outside the National Landscape.
Land close to Cirencester, Fairford, Lechlade, Kemble or Moreton-in-Marsh with a safe road access.
Land adjoining one of the proposed strategic sites, where it could be planned alongside.
Redundant farmyards, workshops and other previously developed land, including inside the National Landscape.
Sites largely clear of the river flood plains and the wetter ground of the Water Park.
Larger holdings that could provide homes with green space and biodiversity gain on the same land.

Our page on redundant yards and brownfield land explains how we look at sites that are already built on, which is often the route inside the National Landscape. For a wider view of the county, see our Gloucestershire page.

Common Questions in Cotswold District

My land is inside the National Landscape. Is it worth a conversation?

Sometimes. Large housing schemes are very unlikely, but a small scheme on the edge of a village, or the reuse of an old yard or farm buildings, can succeed with good design. We will tell you honestly which of those, if any, fits your land.

Is it too late to comment on the new Local Plan?

No. The consultation runs until midnight on 3 November 2026. After that, comments go to the inspector with the plan, and the examination itself is where the soundness of sites is tested.

My land is near Down Ampney or Kemble but outside the proposed site. What then?

It depends on how it relates to the allocation. Some neighbouring land ends up as part of a larger scheme, some as green space around it, and some can come forward on its own later. We look at the boundary, access and drainage to see which is realistic.

Does the 68% result still matter now the new plan is coming?

Yes, until the new plan is adopted. It is one of the main reasons an application on well-placed land outside the National Landscape can succeed now rather than waiting for the plan.

Who pays for the landscape and heritage reports?

We do. Under our agreements we fund and manage all the planning work, and if permission is not granted you keep your land and owe us nothing.

Tell Us About Your Land in Cotswold District

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.

About your land

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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.