Hertfordshire council area

Selling Land in Welwyn Hatfield

Welwyn Hatfield adopted a local plan in October 2023, yet it delivered under half of its required homes in the most recent Housing Delivery Test. The plan itself committed the council to an early replacement, and the final draft of that new plan, running to 2043, opened for comment on 23 September 2026.

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Welwyn Hatfield at a Glance

The borough is built around two towns: Welwyn Garden City, founded in 1920 and described in the adopted plan as the world's second garden city, and Hatfield. Around them lie Welwyn village, Digswell and Woolmer Green to the north and Welham Green, Brookmans Park, Little Heath, Cuffley and Northaw to the south. The adopted plan lists six stations: Welwyn North, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, Welham Green, Brookmans Park and Cuffley.

46% in the Housing Delivery Test. The borough delivered 1,058 homes against a requirement of 2,291 over the three years measured.
A plan from 2023 that was always short. The Local Plan 2016 to 2036 sets a need of 15,200 homes, 760 a year, but identifies land for around 13,400.
About three quarters Green Belt. That is the adopted plan's own description. Government statistics for March 2021, as reported by CPRE Hertfordshire, put it at 79.2%, or 10,250 hectares. The small difference is one of rounding and date rather than substance: either way, almost all open land outside the towns and excluded villages is Green Belt.
A university town and a business park. The University of Hertfordshire has its two main campuses in Hatfield, and Hatfield Business Park occupies the former aerodrome, which closed in 1993.
Split in two by reorganisation. From April 2028 the Northaw and Cuffley ward is due to join the new Eastern Hertfordshire council, while the rest of the borough goes to Central Hertfordshire.

So the borough has a recent plan on paper, a shortfall in practice, and a replacement plan moving quickly. Each of those matters to a landowner in a different way.

Welwyn Hatfield in Figures

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

Housing Delivery Test 2025
46%
Below 75%: treated as having evidenced unmet housing need under national policy S5.
Homes built against homes needed
1,058
of 2,291 needed, April 2022 to March 2025
Most recent strategic plan adopted
October 2023
The plan currently used to decide applications.
New plan progress
Updated
Final draft plan to 2043 open for comment 23 September to 5 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.

A Plan Adopted With a Promise Attached

The 2023 plan was adopted with a commitment built in. The plan itself says an updated or replacement plan will be submitted for examination no later than three years after adoption, to find the remaining homes, roughly 1,800 of them.

The council has run three calls for sites, in spring 2025, summer 2025 and February to March 2026, consulted on a first draft of the new plan between 12 February and 26 March 2026, and has now approved the final draft for publication. The key dates now are:

23 September to 5 November 2026. The proposed submission plan, running to 2043, is open for comments on soundness and legal compliance. The council's plan page asks for responses by 6pm on 5 November, while its press release of 23 September gives the closing date as 4 November. The plan page is the more specific of the two, but anyone making representations should aim for the earlier date so that nothing turns on the difference.
2027. The council intends to submit the plan to the Secretary of State and expects the examination to follow.
After examination. Inspectors report, the council considers their recommendations, and the plan can be adopted. The new unitary councils take over on 1 April 2028, so the timing of adoption relative to that date is something to watch.

Unlike Hertsmere, St Albans and Three Rivers, Welwyn Hatfield saw its housing figure fall under the government's December 2024 method. CPRE Hertfordshire's analysis put the new figure at 848 homes a year, below the old figure of 910 though above the 760 the adopted plan was built on. The pressure here comes from the backlog and the missing land, not from a jump in the target.

Anyone thinking about putting land forward should know how councils weigh submitted sites. Our guide to the call for sites and local plan process covers the evidence they look for.

Where the Adopted Plan Puts New Homes

Several of the larger allocations from the 2023 plan now have masterplans the council has adopted or approved.

Site	What is planned
North West Hatfield	About 1,750 homes with new primary and secondary schools, a neighbourhood centre and employment land. Masterplan adopted in February 2025.
Birchall Garden Suburb, south east of Welwyn Garden City	A new neighbourhood of about 1,950 homes that crosses into East Hertfordshire, where around 1,350 of them fall, leaving about 600 in Welwyn Hatfield.
Marshmoor, Welham Green	Up to 40,500 square metres of employment space, aimed at life sciences, with 100 homes for workers. Masterplan adopted in July 2025.
Land west of Brookmans Park station	A village allocation next to the station, with a masterplan approved in November 2024.

The villages took a share too. Local reporting of the plan listed 527 homes for Brookmans Park, 404 for Cuffley, 337 for Welham Green, 272 for Welwyn and 260 for Woolmer Green. Those numbers show that the plan already accepted Green Belt release around the southern and northern villages, which is relevant evidence for the next round.

What 46% Means Alongside a Recent Plan

A recent plan does not protect a council from the Housing Delivery Test. A score of 46% brings policy S5 into play, because national policy counts a result that low as proof of unmet need, however new the plan. The practical effect depends on where your land is.

Inside the towns and excluded villages. Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield and villages such as Woolmer Green, Cuffley and Brookmans Park are excluded from the Green Belt. A plot within those boundaries is judged under policy S4, and the council would need to show the harm substantially outweighs the benefits to refuse it.
Green Belt land around them. S5 does not apply here. The route is grey belt, where the shortfall supports the need test, or previously developed land, or allocation in the new plan.
Near the six stations. Policy L3 favours new homes a short walk from a station with a good service. Welwyn North, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, Welham Green, Brookmans Park and Cuffley each need looking at on their own service levels.

The open land that keeps Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield and the southern villages apart does exactly the job the Green Belt purposes describe, so land within it is judged strictly. Land already enclosed by the towns, main roads or the railway is where a grey belt case is more often made, and our grey belt guide sets out the tests.

The Lee, the Mimram and Heritage

The adopted plan names four watercourses in the borough: the Lee, the Mimram, the Colne and Cuffley Brook. Floodplain land in their valleys is usually kept open, with homes on the higher ground, and land beside a river is checked against the Environment Agency flood maps before anything else.

Heritage matters on a large scale here. The adopted plan counts 431 listed buildings, and Welwyn Garden City's standing as the world's second garden city shapes how the council views change in and around it. Schemes near either town are designed with that setting in mind, which affects layout and density more often than the principle of development.

Our flood risk guide explains how the flood zones are applied when a site is partly in a valley.

The Land We Look for in Welwyn Hatfield

Fields on the edges of Welwyn Garden City or Hatfield that are enclosed by the town, a main road or the railway.
Land beside the excluded villages, such as Woolmer Green, Welwyn, Welham Green, Brookmans Park and Cuffley.
Sites within walking distance of any of the borough's six stations.
Former commercial, equestrian or glasshouse sites with a lawful non-farm use.
Holdings that could help make up the homes the 2023 plan did not find.

If your land lies in the open gap between the two towns, we will tell you honestly that the bar is high. Where there is a case, we carry the cost and the work of making it.

Questions About Land in Welwyn Hatfield

The borough adopted a plan in 2023. Why would my land be considered now?

Because that plan did not find all the homes needed and committed the council to a replacement. The replacement is being finalised now, and the 46% delivery result adds weight to the need for more homes in the meantime.

I own land near Cuffley. Which council will deal with it after 2028?

The Northaw and Cuffley ward is due to become part of the new Eastern Hertfordshire council, with Broxbourne and East Hertfordshire. The Welwyn Hatfield plan will continue to apply there until the new council makes its own.

I put land forward in the 2025 call for sites but it is not in the final draft. What now?

The examination is the next point at which sites can be looked at again, and plans are reviewed in any case. Some land also comes forward through planning applications under national policy. We can look at why your land was not chosen and what evidence would help.

Does being near the Mimram or the Lee rule land out?

Not usually. It shapes where homes can go. Most holdings in the valleys have higher ground outside the floodplain, and the rivers are protected through drainage design rather than by stopping all development nearby.

Will the university or the business park affect land in Hatfield?

They create demand for homes, including for staff and students, and the council weighs that in its plan. Land close to them is looked at for housing and sometimes for employment, and we consider both.

Tell Us About Your Land in Welwyn Hatfield

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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.