Warwickshire council area

Selling Land in Rugby

Rugby has built far more homes than its plan asked for since 2011, but since that plan turned five its supply has been measured against the government's figure, and an inspector cut it to 3.4 years in March 2026. A new plan to 2042 goes before three inspectors at Rugby College from 17 November 2026, with homes proposed around Rugby and in several of its larger villages.

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Houlton, South West Rugby and the Green Belt Towards Coventry

Rugby Borough Council covers about 351 square kilometres and some 122,000 people. The town of Rugby holds most of them and most of the growth, including the new community at Houlton. The rural borough around it takes in larger villages such as Dunchurch, Long Lawford, Wolston, Brinklow, Binley Woods and Wolvey, and a large area of the West Midlands Green Belt covers the mostly rural land between Rugby and Coventry.

Well ahead on delivery. In the Housing Delivery Test 2025 the council delivered 2,895 homes against a requirement of 1,547, a result of 187%.
Short of land. The council now accepts 3.4 years of deliverable housing land at 1 April 2025, after an appeal decision removed homes it had counted.
An old plan. The Rugby Borough Local Plan 2011 to 2031 was adopted in June 2019, so it is now 7 years old.
A new plan at examination. The Rugby Borough Local Plan 2025 to 2042 was submitted on 27 April 2026, and hearings are set for November and December 2026.
Two large urban extensions. Houlton and South West Rugby between them account for more than half of the homes the new plan counts on.

Rugby is a place where the plan does most of the work. Its supply position, though, has given landowners a second route that did not exist a few years ago, and the examination of the new plan will shape how long that route stays open.

Rugby in Figures

The government's latest figures for the council, its latest five-year housing land supply, and where its local plan stands.

Housing Delivery Test 2025
187%
Meeting its housing requirement.
Five-year housing land supply
3.4 years
Short of five years: national policy treats this as evidence of unmet housing need. Position at 1 April 2025, measured against the standard method, 636 homes a year, plus a 5% buffer. Stated by Rugby Borough Council (March 2026 addendum, adopting the findings of the Rounds Gardens appeal decision).
Checked source
Homes built against homes needed
2,895
of 1,547 needed, April 2022 to March 2025
Most recent strategic plan adopted
June 2019
More than five years old, so its housing figures are usually replaced by the government's standard method.
New plan progress
Updated
Local Plan at examination: stage 1 hearings from 17 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.

From 4.16 Years to 3.4 Years: What the Rounds Gardens Inspector Changed

The adopted plan reached its fifth birthday in June 2024. From then on, national policy required the council to measure its supply against local housing need under the standard method instead of the plan's own requirement, a figure the council's statement puts at 636 homes a year. The council's position statement at 1 April 2025 set out what that meant. It records 1,218 more homes built between 2011 and 2025 than the plan required, but leaves that surplus out, citing national planning guidance, and says that against the plan's requirement with past delivery counted it would have shown 6.35 years. Against the standard method it claimed 4.16 years.

That figure was tested at an inquiry into St Modwen Homes' appeal for 115 homes on a former football pitch and tennis courts north of Rounds Gardens, in the town. The inspector's decision of 13 March 2026 took 507 homes out of the count: 200 at Houlton that had been expected in 2029/30, because the inspector judged the rest of that allocation would arrive about a year later than the council forecast, and 307 at South West Rugby, which the inspector described as appearing "less proactive, with comparatively less infrastructure in place". The council accepted the result in a March 2026 addendum to its statement:

Source: Rugby Borough Council, addendum to its Housing Land Supply Position Statement 2025 to 2030 (March 2026).
Part of the calculation	Council's figure after the appeal
Local housing need, standard method	636 homes a year
Five-year requirement	3,180 homes
Buffer	5% (159 homes), as the 2023 delivery test result was 180%
Requirement with buffer	3,339 homes, or 668 a year
Deliverable supply at 1 April 2025	2,270 homes, after 507 were removed
Result	3.4 years

The appellant had argued for an even lower figure by cutting Rugby's supply by 23% for the homes the old plan provided towards Coventry's needs. The inspector saw "no logical justification" for that, since supply under a plan past its fifth year is judged against Rugby's own local housing need, not the old plan's figure. The inspector also added that, given how early the plan review then was, the position was "unlikely to shift with any significance any time soon".

Building Has Slowed From Its Peak

The council's monitoring report for 2025/26 shows completions falling back from a peak in 2022/23:

Source: Rugby Borough Council, Authority Monitoring Report 2025 to 2026.
Year	Net new homes
2019/20	859
2020/21	832
2021/22	939
2022/23	1,349
2023/24	873
2024/25	676
2025/26	505

The 505 homes of 2025/26 are the first year in this run below the 636 a year the standard method now asks for. Past building does not decide the supply test in any case, which looks forward at what can be shown to start within five years. Affordable homes fell further: 16 were completed in 2025/26, with one more acquired, 3.37% of all new homes, against the 20% on brownfield and 30% on greenfield sites the monitoring report measures them by.

Where the Shortfall Opens a Route, and Where It Does Not

The Rounds Gardens appeal was still dismissed. The inspector found the social and economic benefits of 115 homes significant, on previously developed land in a highly accessible location, and still judged that shortcomings in the design, with areas dominated by parking and little meaningful soft landscaping, would "significantly and demonstrably outweigh" them. A shortfall puts a weight on the scales for housing; it does not excuse a poor scheme. That is why we fund proper design work before any application is made.

Within those limits, the supply gap changes how land is judged across the borough:

Inside Rugby and the villages. Plots and brownfield sites within the built-up areas are judged under policy S4 of the national framework, which favours approval unless the harm substantially outweighs the gains. The new plan itself counts on 850 homes from small windfall sites of fewer than five homes.
On the edge of a settlement, outside the Green Belt. Under national policy S5, as revised in August 2026, a shortfall counts towards showing unmet need, as a matter to weigh rather than a finding made for you, and it can justify homes past a settlement boundary where the land reads as part of the place and local roads, schools and drainage can absorb them.
In the Green Belt. S5 does not apply there. Land that does not strongly serve Green Belt purposes can count as grey belt, and the shortfall supplies the need that national policy asks for before homes are allowed on it. Larger schemes then meet the Golden Rules, and the new plan asks for 40% affordable housing on land released from the Green Belt.
Through the plan. Larger holdings, and land that fits none of these, are for the plan and the reviews that follow it.

Two Policies Called S5

Anyone reading the new plan should note that it has its own policy S5, on countryside protection, which is not the national policy of the same number. Rugby's version says that outside the settlement boundaries on its policies map, development will only be permitted where another policy of the plan supports it. The weight it carries grows as the examination moves towards adoption. Our grey belt guide covers the Green Belt tests in more depth.

The Plan to 2042: 10,812 Homes and Where They Go

The submission plan sets a requirement of 10,812 homes from 2025 to 2042, 636 a year, the same as the standard method. Its supply comes to 11,729, which the council describes as an 8.5% buffer over the whole plan:

Source: Rugby Borough Local Plan 2025 to 2042, proposed submission version (January 2026), policy S2.
Source of homes	Homes, 2025 to 2042
South West Rugby	3,505
Houlton, the remainder deliverable by 2042	3,060
Eden Park, Rugby	602
Other allocations carried over from the 2011 to 2031 plan	205
Other sites with planning permission	621
New allocations under policy S6	2,886
Small windfall sites of fewer than five homes	850
Total	11,729

South West Rugby is planned as a new neighbourhood of around 4,000 homes with employment land, served by a spine road that includes the Homestead Link from the A426 to Coventry Road west of Dunchurch. Rugby town stays the main focus, and the nine main rural settlements are Binley Woods, Brinklow, Clifton upon Dunsmore, Dunchurch, Long Lawford, Ryton on Dunsmore, Stretton on Dunsmore, Wolston and Wolvey.

The New Allocations

Long Lawford: 400 homes on land at Long Lawford and 250 at Lawford Fields Farm.
Brinklow: 250 south of Rugby Road and 75 at West Farm and Home Farm.
Wolvey: 150 north of the B4109 and 60 on Coventry Road.
Clifton upon Dunsmore: 80 on Newton Road, 60 north of Lilbourne Road and 10 on North Road.
Stretton-on-Dunsmore, Wolston and Ryton-on-Dunsmore: 113, 95 and 37 homes across their sites.
Rugby town: the largest new sites include 285 at Newton Manor Lane, Brownsover, 250 south of Crick Road at Houlton and 200 at Rugby Central Shopping Centre.

The plan alters Green Belt boundaries to make room for some of this. Its affordable housing policy otherwise asks for 20% in the Rugby urban area and 30% elsewhere, with a 70% social rent and 30% shared ownership split. If you farm near one of these villages, our farmland page sets out what we consider on a whole holding.

The Land We Look for in Rugby

Fields outside the Green Belt that adjoin Rugby or one of the nine main rural settlements.
Parcels in the Green Belt towards Coventry that are boxed in by roads, the railway or existing buildings.
Yards, depots, former works and other land with lawful buildings or hardstanding, in or out of the Green Belt.
Garden land, paddocks and plots inside the villages and the town.
Larger holdings for the next review of the plan, once the 2025 to 2042 plan is in place.

Every one of these needs evidence before an application, from transport and drainage to layout, and after Rounds Gardens, design above all. We pay for all of it and take the planning risk, under an option agreed at a fixed price at the outset, set higher than the land is worth to you today. You keep using the land until completion, and if no permission is granted you keep it and owe nothing. The how it works page explains the stages; small plots are covered on our paddocks and small sites page.

Hearings at Rugby College From 17 November

The Examination

Three inspectors, C Dillon, J Glasin and K Ford, are examining the plan. The examination website sets out two stages of hearings:

Hearing dates from the examination website; the adoption date is from the council's Local Development Scheme (October 2024) and depends on the inspectors' findings.
Stage	Date
Stage 1, in person at Rugby College, Technology Drive	From Tuesday 17 November 2026
Stage 2, online	Weeks beginning 7 and 14 December 2026
Adoption, on the council's timetable	By June 2027

The inspectors' matters run from legal compliance and strategy to the new neighbourhood and the residential allocations. Among the questions on those allocations is whether exceptional circumstances for altering the Green Belt are demonstrated, and the inspectors ask whether the council can show a sufficient supply of housing land on adoption. Written statements answering those questions were due by 15 September 2026, and people who responded to the published plan may be invited by the inspectors to take part in the hearings.

The Council's Projection: Five Years by April 2028

At the inspectors' request, the council has projected its position forward. Its projection for 2028 to 2033 measures supply against the new plan's 636 a year, adds a projected shortfall of 538 homes for 2025 to 2028 and a 5% buffer, and puts supply at 5.4 years at 1 April 2028. That projection looks to 2028, not today, so it leaves the current figure of 3.4 years where it is, and the council has not yet published a statement at 1 April 2026.

The Next Delivery Test

A new result arrives each year, and at 187% Rugby is far from any of the thresholds. The number that matters here is the supply figure, not the delivery score.

Reorganisation, Paused

The government had approved two single-tier councils for Warwickshire, a northern one replacing Rugby, Nuneaton and Bedworth and North Warwickshire borough councils, and one for the south. As the Rugby Observer reported on 9 September 2026, that was deferred after new legal advice. Rugby Borough Council is still the council taking its plan through examination.

What This Means for Timing

Land outside the Green Belt that sits against the town or a main rural settlement can be looked at for an application now, while the shortfall stands and before the new plan is adopted.
Green Belt land depends on the grey belt test, and the inspectors' view of the plan's Green Belt changes will show how the council's evidence holds up.
Everything else is best prepared for the next review. Our guide to how long planning takes sets out what each route involves.

Questions About Land in Rugby

Rugby has built far more homes than it planned. Why is its supply only 3.4 years?

Because the adopted plan is more than five years old, supply is now measured against the standard method, and the 1,218 homes built above the old plan's requirement since 2011 are left out. The Rounds Gardens inspector also removed 507 homes at Houlton and South West Rugby that were not shown to be deliverable within five years.

My land near Long Lawford is not in the new plan. Is it too late?

For this plan, the sites are now before the inspectors. If your land is outside the Green Belt and sits well against the village, an application may be possible while supply is short. If not, it can be prepared for the next review.

I own a field in the Green Belt west of Rugby, towards Coventry. Is the land supply position relevant?

Yes, for the grey belt route, because a supply below five years shows the need for homes that national policy requires. The open question is how much your parcel contributes to the purposes the Green Belt is there to serve. Larger schemes also carry the Golden Rules, and the new plan asks for 40% affordable homes on land released from the Green Belt.

Why was the Rounds Gardens appeal dismissed when the council was short of land?

The inspector found the design poor, with areas dominated by parking and little meaningful landscaping, and judged that harm outweighed the benefits of 115 homes. It shows that design quality still decides cases here, and it is work we pay for before any application.

Should I wait until the new plan is adopted?

Not necessarily. The council aims to adopt it by June 2027, and its own projection looks to five years of supply at April 2028. Well placed land outside the Green Belt has a case now. Once the plan is adopted with its new sites, unallocated land faces a firmer policy.

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Sources

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.