Selling Land in Harborough

Policy DS01 of the submitted plan sets a requirement of 13,182 homes between 2020 and 2041. It is stepped: 657 homes a year to 2036, then 534 a year for the final five years. The 657 is Harborough's own need under the older method, 534 a year, plus 123 a year towards Leicester's unmet need, which the topic paper totals at 1,968 homes to 2036.

The council expects to exceed that comfortably. Its housing numbers topic paper counts completions since 2020, 4,238 homes with permission, 6,072 on new allocations, 350 to come from small villages and a windfall allowance of 450 from 2031, a total of 15,324, or 2,142 homes (16%) more than the requirement. The allocations are spread down the settlement order:

Why the Inspectors Are Testing It Against the 2023 Framework

The first hearing, on 12 August 2026, dealt with a single question: which version of national policy applies. In Panel Note 7, issued on 19 August, the inspectors found that the plan had reached its final consultation stage by the cut-off of 12 March 2025 and that its requirement met 87% of the newer need figure of 15,183 homes, above the 80% the transitional rules demand. They concluded that the plan "should be examined against the version of the NPPF published in December 2023", and rejected arguments that Leicester's unmet need should be left out of the sum. The plan therefore stands or falls on the older, lower need figure.

Away from the city, most applications turn on how a site sits against a village. Policy DS04 of the submitted plan keeps four Areas of Separation open, each protecting a specific gap:

• Great Bowden and Market Harborough.
• Bitteswell, Lutterworth and Magna Park.
• Oadby and Great Glen.
• Ullesthorpe and Magna Park.

Land inside one of these faces a harder case, since the whole point of the designation is the gap. Land beside Kibworth, Fleckney, Broughton Astley or one of the medium villages, outside those areas, is where the supply shortfall does most of its work. With 30 made neighbourhood plans in the district, many villages also have their own boundaries and site policies, and we read the parish plan before any other document.

The Call for Sites

The council's last call for sites ran from 16 January to 31 October 2024 and fed its 2024 land availability assessment. It is closed, but the council says sites submitted after 31 October 2024 will be considered in future reviews of that assessment, so land can still be put on its radar for the next plan. For the stages between a site submission and an allocation, see our call for sites and local plans explainer, which walks through each one.

Stage 2 Hearings, 10 November to 4 December

The inspectors' draft timetable opens on the morning of 10 November with procedural matters and the plan's vision, and turns to the amount and distribution of development that afternoon. The Leicester Urban Area is heard on the afternoon of 24 November, and the market towns, large and medium villages and Magna Park on 25 November. Strategic housing policies follow on 1 December, with a session on next steps on 4 December. What the inspectors say about site numbers in these sessions is the first real sign of how the plan will end up.

Adoption, and What It Would Do to the Supply

The council's Local Development Scheme gave December 2026 or January 2027 for adoption, marked as indicative and dependent on the examination. With hearings now running to 4 December and any main modifications still to be consulted on before the inspectors report, that date looks optimistic, but the order of events is fixed. Once the plan is adopted, supply would normally be measured against the new plan's 657 a year rather than 735, and the topic paper expects completions, permissions and new allocations to "restore and exceed the five-year requirement from 2026-2027". The inspectors put the plan's requirement at 87% of the newer need figure, above the 80% line below which national policy, for decisions since 1 July 2026, adds a 20% buffer to plans examined under a framework older than December 2024. We make no forecast, but if that happens the case for unallocated land outside the plan becomes much harder. The months before adoption are when the shortfall carries its full weight.

The Next Supply Statement

The statement for 2024/25 came out at the end of October 2025, and as of late September 2026 the council's monitoring page listed no statement based at April 2026. When it comes, it will count another year of building and the permissions granted since, and it may be the last one measured against the standard method before the new plan takes over.

The Next Delivery Test

The Housing Delivery Test 2025 was published on 17 August 2026, and a new edition follows each year. At 139%, a drop below 95% would require an action plan and a drop below 85% would add a 20% buffer to the supply calculation, neither of which looks close. The supply position, not the delivery test, is what moves applications in Harborough.

What This Means for Timing

• Land that sits well against a village or town can be reviewed for an application now, while the shortfall still counts.
• Larger holdings or land in a green wedge are better aimed at the next review of the plan, with evidence built up in the meantime.
• Unsure which applies? Our free review answers that first, and our how it works page shows what follows.