Kent council area
Selling Land in Ashford
Ashford has no Green Belt, a housing delivery result of 75% and, on the council's own count, 3.16 years of housing land. Its adopted plan dates from 2019 and the replacement has been restarted under the new national system, so for land around Ashford, Tenterden and the villages the coming two years deserve close attention.
- 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
Ashford Borough at a Glance
Ashford Borough Council covers about 580 square kilometres of mid Kent and around 141,000 people. The town of Ashford, served by Ashford International station on High Speed 1, is by far the largest place. Tenterden is the borough's other town, and the rest is rural, with villages such as Wye, Chilham, Charing, Biddenden, Woodchurch, Appledore and Hamstreet spread across dozens of parishes.
- Outside the Green Belt. Ashford is not among the Kent districts that contain Metropolitan Green Belt, so the Green Belt tests that govern land in west Kent do not arise here.
- Two National Landscapes at the edges. The Kent Downs cover the north east of the borough, including Wye and Chilham. The High Weald covers the south west, including Rolvenden and the Isle of Oxney.
- Short of housing land. The council's statement of August 2026, with a base date of 1 April 2026, puts its supply at 3.16 years.
- A plan now past five years. The Ashford Local Plan 2030 was adopted in February 2019, so it is 7 years old, and the council now counts need using the government's standard method, 986 homes a year, rather than the plan's own 888.
- Stodmarsh applies. New homes in the Stour catchment must show they will not add nutrients to the protected Stodmarsh lakes.
- Reorganisation under review. In July 2026 ministers placed Ashford with Swale and Folkestone and Hythe in one of four planned unitary councils for Kent and Medway, but the government paused that decision on 7 September 2026.
Ashford in Figures
The government's latest figures for the council, and where its local plan stands.
Housing Delivery Test 2025
75%
Below 85%: a 20% buffer is added to its five-year housing land supply.
Homes built against homes needed
2,075
of 2,782 needed, April 2022 to March 2025
Most recent strategic plan adopted
February 2019
More than five years old, so its housing figures are usually replaced by the government's standard method.
New plan progress
Updated
New plan started: Ashford Local Plan 2043 launched June 2026, scoping consultation September 2026, adoption aimed for 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 the Land Supply Figure Carries the Argument
Under the August 2026 National Planning Policy Framework, a council scoring below 75% in the Housing Delivery Test is automatically treated as having unmet housing need, which opens policy S5 for land beyond a settlement boundary. Ashford's 75% result keeps it out of that group. What it does do is raise the buffer the council must add to its supply from 5% to 20%, because the result is under 85%.
That buffer helps explain the thin supply. The August 2026 statement takes 986 homes a year for five years, adds 20%, and sets the total against 3,746 deliverable homes. The answer is 3.16 years, leaving a gap of more than 2,000 homes. National policy allows a shortfall of that kind to be used as evidence of unmet need under S5, so the route is open in Ashford even though the delivery score alone would not open it.
S5 still asks a lot. The land must be physically well related to a town or village and servable by existing or planned infrastructure, and landscape and flood policies still apply. Inside a settlement, policy S4 is simpler: approval unless the harm would substantially outweigh the benefits. Our guide to what the 2026 framework means for landowners sets out both policies.
How We Build an Ashford Case
- Relate the site to the settlement. How the land meets the existing edge, the walk to shops and schools, and a safe access.
- Use the council's own numbers. Its August 2026 statement is the strongest evidence of unmet need an application here can carry.
- Settle the nutrient route early. In the Stour catchment, we fix how the scheme will be nutrient neutral before applying.
- Show the homes can come quickly. An argument built on a five-year shortfall is stronger when the site can help close it.
Chilmington Green and a Thin Pipeline
Chilmington Green has outline permission for 5,750 homes and is the largest allocation in the borough. The council's land supply statement counts none of those homes in its five-year figure. It cites uncertainty over the lead developer, and notes that the section 106 agreement caps occupations at 400 homes until a bond is provided for A28 improvements.
The same statement shows how far completions have fallen. Its table of net homes built reads:
| Monitoring year | Net homes completed |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,004 |
| 2023/24 | 471 |
| 2024/25 | 601 |
| 2025/26 | 143 |
With the biggest site adding nothing to near-term supply, a smaller, well placed field that can be built within a few years is what the shortfall calls for, and an inspector at appeal reads the same table.
Stodmarsh and the Cost of Nutrient Credits
Since 2020, new homes and other overnight accommodation in the affected part of the Stour catchment have needed to show they will not add nitrogen or phosphorus to the Stodmarsh lakes. Ashford's statement says about 24% of its supply has mitigation secured and a further 40% relies on nutrient credits, which it assumes will let those sites deliver from the third year.
Credits can now be bought. The council lists three providers with approved strategic assessments in the catchment:
- Stour Environmental Credits, whose first tranche comes from upgrading septic tanks.
- DACE Environmental, with schemes at Bliby and two fallowing projects, where farmland is taken out of cropping.
- Savills, with a greenspace creation scheme at Hinxhill.
An application needs a nutrient credit certificate from an approved provider, and the council may restrict occupation of the homes until the mitigation is working. Alongside this market, Kent County Council launched a £9.8 million Kent Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund on 23 July 2026 for wetlands, ditch improvements and treatment works that will create more credits.
For you this is a cost and a sequence, not a verdict. We budget for mitigation from the start, and the price we agree already allows for it. As the fallowing schemes show, farmland can itself be part of the answer, and our farmland page explains how we look at larger holdings.
Downs, Weald and Village Plans
| Part of the borough | What usually decides a site |
|---|---|
| Ashford town edge, Kingsnorth and Kennington | Access, the nutrient route and how the land sits against existing homes. With no Green Belt to test, the questions are practical ones. |
| Wye, Chilham and the north east of the borough | The Kent Downs National Landscape. Major development inside it needs exceptional circumstances, and land just outside is judged partly on its effect on the setting of the Downs. |
| Rolvenden, the Isle of Oxney and the south west | The High Weald National Landscape, where the scale and design of a scheme have to answer to the landscape around it. |
| Charing, Pluckley, Egerton and the villages with their own plans | Neighbourhood plan policies, which form part of the development plan alongside the Local Plan. |
The council lists adopted neighbourhood plans for Aldington and Bonnington, Boughton Aluph and Eastwell, Charing, Egerton, Pluckley, Rolvenden, Tenterden and Wye with Hinxhill. Where one applies, we design to its policies, because a scheme that fits the village's own plan starts with goodwill.
Land We Would Like to See in Ashford Borough
- Fields of 2 acres or more against the edge of Ashford, including around Kingsnorth, Kennington and Willesborough.
- Land beside Tenterden, Charing, Hamstreet, Woodchurch or Biddenden that reads as part of the village rather than open country.
- Sites with a road frontage, or an access that could realistically be formed.
- Former yards, farm buildings and commercial plots on a settlement edge.
- Larger holdings that could suit the new Local Plan, or host nutrient or biodiversity work alongside homes.
Land deep in the Kent Downs or High Weald is harder, and we say so plainly.
What Could Change in Ashford Over the Next Year
The Next Housing Delivery Test
The government publishes the test once a year. The latest, the Housing Delivery Test 2025, came out on 17 August 2026 and covers April 2022 to March 2025. The next edition moves the three-year window on, so 2022/23 drops out and 2025/26 comes in. In the council's table the year leaving recorded 1,004 homes and the year arriving 143. The requirement is recalculated too, so we do not guess the result, but that swap is the thing to watch.
If a future result falls below 75%, S5 would treat Ashford as having unmet need automatically, and with no Green Belt that would reach every town and village edge. A result of 85% or more would cut the buffer to 5% and lift the land supply figure on the same sites.
The Next Land Supply Statement
The council says it must publish a statement of its deliverable supply every year. The current one runs from 1 April 2026, so the next should look forward from April 2027 and will show whether the nutrient credits and the Kent fund have started to move the stalled sites.
The Ashford Local Plan 2043
In June 2026 the council restarted its new plan under the plan-making system introduced in March 2026, because work on the Ashford Local Plan 2042 could not be carried across. Responses to the 2025 consultation remain background only. The council's timetable shows:
- A scoping consultation from 2 to 23 September 2026, now closed.
- A self assessment at the first gateway on 30 October 2026.
- Consultation on the proposed content and evidence from 23 November 2026 to 11 January 2027.
- Consultation on the proposed plan from 17 May to 12 July 2027.
- Submission for examination on 1 November 2027, and adoption on 31 March 2028.
The Paused Council Change
On 16 July 2026 ministers chose a pattern of four unitary councils for Kent and Medway, due to start in April 2028, with Ashford in the middle council alongside Swale and Folkestone and Hythe. Less than two months later, on 7 September, the government paused the whole change for a review. The May 2027 elections will go ahead on existing boundaries, and Ashford Borough Council remains the planning authority, so for now the plan timetable above is the one that counts.
What This Means for Your Timing
Two routes can run side by side. A well related site can go forward by application now, resting on the council's own shortfall, while the same land is put to the council for the 2043 plan, where the next formal consultation, on proposed content and evidence, opens in November. Neither comes with a guaranteed date, and we will say which we would lead with once we have looked at your land. The plan-making stages are laid out in our call for sites guide.
Questions About Land in Ashford
Ashford is not below 75%. Can a field outside a village still get permission?
It can. National policy lets the council's 3.16-year land supply count as evidence of unmet need under policy S5. The field must still sit well against the village and be capable of being served, which our first review checks.
My land is in the Stour catchment. Who pays for nutrient credits?
We do. Mitigation is part of the planning cost we carry, and you do not buy credits or commission surveys yourself.
I put land forward for the Ashford Local Plan 2042. Is that still counted?
The council says the earlier work cannot be formally transferred into the new 2043 plan, so it is sensible to expect a fresh submission when the council invites one. We prepare and submit it for you, and your earlier response remains useful background.
Will the new unitary council change anything for my land this year?
No. The change is paused while the government reviews it, so Ashford Borough Council still decides applications and runs its plan. If a new council is created later, the adopted Ashford plan would carry on applying until that council set its own.
My land is in the High Weald, near Rolvenden. Is it worth asking?
Yes. The High Weald raises the bar for design and scale rather than closing the door, and land on the edge of a village can suit a smaller scheme. Our how it works page explains what happens after you get in touch, and none of the planning costs fall on you.
Tell Us About Your Land in Ashford
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.
More in Kent
County overview
Selling Land in Kent
Selling land in Kent? Housing need council by council, the Green Belt and the nutrient rules, in plain English. We agree a price and pay for all the planning.
Housing Delivery Test: 57%
Selling Land in Folkestone and Hythe
Own land in Folkestone and Hythe? No Green Belt, a new plan starting and homes needed. We agree your price up front and pay for all the planning.
Housing Delivery Test: 61%
Selling Land in Gravesham
Own land in Gravesham? The council built 61% of the homes it needed and a new plan runs to 2042. We agree a price for your land and pay for the planning.
Housing Delivery Test: 60%
Selling Land in Medway
Own land in Medway? The council built 60% of the homes it needed and its new plan is at examination. We agree your price and pay for all the planning.
Housing Delivery Test: 25%
Selling Land in Sevenoaks
Own land in Sevenoaks District? The council built only 25% of the homes it needed, and grey belt is in play. We agree a price and pay for the planning.
Housing Delivery Test: 70%
Selling Land in Swale
Own land in Swale? No Green Belt and a final draft plan for over 17,000 homes to 2042. We agree your price up front and pay for all the planning work.
Housing Delivery Test: 70%
Selling Land in Thanet
Own land in Thanet? The council built 70% of the homes it needed and a new plan is starting. We agree a price for your land and pay for all the planning.
Housing Delivery Test: 63%
Selling Land in Tonbridge and Malling
Own land in Tonbridge and Malling? The government has directed a new plan to 2042, much of it on Green Belt. We agree a price and pay for the planning.
Housing Delivery Test: 79%
Selling Land in Canterbury
Own land in Canterbury district? A final draft plan for 1,215 homes a year to 2043 is heading to examination. We agree your price and pay for all the planning.
Housing Delivery Test: 93%
Selling Land in Maidstone
Own land in Maidstone? The council has said its housing land supply fell below five years in 2025. We agree your price and pay for all the planning.
Housing Delivery Test: 93%
Selling Land in Tunbridge Wells
Own land in Tunbridge Wells? About 70% of the borough is in the High Weald, and a plan review has begun. We agree your price and pay for all the planning.
Sources
- Ashford Borough Council: Five Year Housing Land Supply 2026 to 2031, August 2026 update
- Ashford Borough Council: Local Plan timetable and how to get involved
- Ashford Borough Council: Changes to the Local Plan timetable and launch of the Ashford Local Plan 2043 (June 2026)
- Ashford Borough Council: Current local plans
- Ashford Borough Council: Nutrient credits (Stodmarsh)
- Kent County Council: New fund launched to help unlock housing development in the Stodmarsh catchment (July 2026)
- Kent County Council: Ministers decide future shape of Kent and Medway's councils (July 2026)
- Wikipedia: Borough of Ashford
- Wikipedia: Metropolitan Green Belt, extent by local authority
- GOV.UK: Review of local government reorganisation launched (7 September 2026)
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.