Selling Land in Waverley

National policy, as revised in August 2026, treats a shortfall against five years as evidence of unmet need, to be weighed with everything else rather than decisive. How much it counts in Waverley depends on the layer a site falls into:

1. Inside a settlement boundary. Part 2's policy DM13 accepts development in principle within the boundaries on its policies map, except in settlements washed over by the Green Belt, and national policy S4 says such schemes should be approved unless the harm would substantially outweigh the benefits.
2. Countryside beyond the Green Belt. Nearly a third of the borough is countryside outside the Green Belt. Here policy S5 can support homes on land well related to a settlement and served by roads, schools and drainage that can cope, and the 1.28-year figure supplies the evidence of need that S5 looks for.
3. Villages taken out of the Green Belt. Part 1 removed Chiddingfold, Elstead, Milford and Witley from the Green Belt and widened their boundaries a little, so plots inside those boundaries are judged as land within a settlement.
4. Grey belt. S5 does not reach the 61% that is Green Belt. There, land playing only a weak part in the Green Belt's purposes may be grey belt, and this supply position shows the need for homes that grey belt housing requires. Larger schemes must then meet the Golden Rules, as our grey belt guide explains.
5. Inside the Surrey Hills. Major development in a National Landscape needs exceptional circumstances whatever the housing numbers say, so the shortfall helps least here.

The Thames Basin Heaths and SANG

Only about 80 hectares of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area lie in Waverley, north of Farnham, but its 5 kilometre zone of influence takes in most of the town. New homes in the band closest to the heath, within 400 metres, are presumed unacceptable. Further out, up to 5 kilometres, new homes must either provide Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) or contribute to an existing one, and also pay towards strategic access management and monitoring (SAMM) on the heath.

The council describes Farnham Park as Waverley's only current SANG. On 1 January 2026 it recorded a capacity of 2,184 homes, 2,168 already allocated to permissions, and 16 left. It says it will refuse applications once capacity runs out unless the applicant secures SANG elsewhere, so open land that could serve as SANG has a planning role of its own. The council's call for sites asks for exactly that, alongside land for biodiversity net gain offsetting.

The Wealden Heaths

Two further protected heathland sites lie in the borough: Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons, which make up Phase I of the Wealden Heaths Special Protection Area, and Hindhead Commons, part of Phase II. The plan protects both, so homes near them need their effects assessed early.

The Call for Sites Closes on 7 October

The call for sites runs from 26 August to 7 October 2026. It takes land for five or more homes, and for SANG, biodiversity offsetting, infrastructure and renewable energy. It is meant for new sites. The land availability assessment published on 12 August 2026, using information to 1 April 2026, identifies land that "may have potential to be considered for future development through the Local Plan process".

The Plan Timetable

The new Local Plan will guide development until 2044, with Parts 1 and 2 in force until it is adopted. The council agreed its timetable on 2 June 2026, and after a scoping consultation in June and July the next stages are:

The February 2027 consultation is likely to be the first to show which land the council favours, so evidence is best prepared this winter. What happens at each stage is set out in call for sites and local plans.

The Alfold Crossways Decision

An inquiry sat in August 2026 on an appeal by Thakeham Homes and the Merchant Seamans War Memorial Society for up to 400 homes south of Dunsfold Road, Alfold Crossways, brought after the council did not decide the outline application in time. The council's appeal page showed no decision in mid-September, and the reasoning on supply will be read closely around Cranleigh.

Supply, Delivery and West Surrey

While Part 1 is more than five years old, the standard method remains the supply yardstick. The Housing Delivery Test 2025 came out on 17 August 2026, and at 117% none of the test's consequences applies; a result under 95% would bring an action plan, under 85% a 20% buffer and under 75% a finding of unmet need under S5. On 7 September 2026 the government confirmed that Surrey's reorganisation is unaffected by its review, with East and West Surrey going live in April 2027, so the later stages of this timetable will fall to a new unitary council rather than Waverley.

What This Means for Timing

• Land outside the Green Belt, inside settlements or plausibly grey belt can be looked at now, while the shortfall stands.
• Larger holdings belong in the call for sites before 7 October, with evidence built up for February 2027.
• Near Farnham, the SANG route has to be settled before anything else.