Selling Land in Malvern Hills

Malvern Hills' housing land position changed sharply in the first half of 2026. The councils' January 2026 supply report, written while the 2016 plan was more than five years old, measured each council separately against the government's standard method and concluded that none of the three could show five years, so the presumption in favour of sustainable development applied. Adoption of the new plan in March changed both the yardstick and the area measured:

The June total combines 5,650 homes with permission, 1,678 on allocated sites, 360 windfalls in the last two years and 59 homes of over-delivery since April 2025. In January the three districts' standard method figures added up to 2,181 homes a year, far above the plan's 1,178, and the district's supply was almost entirely sites that already had permission. The 20% buffer has nothing to do with delivery. National policy has required it for decisions since 1 July 2026 where a plan adopted in the last five years, and examined under an earlier framework, sets a requirement of 80% or less of the standard method, and 1,178 is well short of 80% of the 2,150 homes a year the method now gives South Worcestershire. That gap is also why a new plan has already started.

What This Means for an Application Today

Where a council cannot show five years, policy S5 of the August 2026 framework counts the gap as evidence of unmet need, though never as an automatic yes: the land must still be well related to a settlement and served by adequate infrastructure. With the joint figure above five years and delivery at 101%, that evidence is missing here, so S5 offers no ready route for an unallocated field on a village edge. Plots within a town or village fall under policy S4 instead, where approval is the starting point and only harm that substantially outweighs the benefits justifies refusal. The plan also keeps routes for rural exception sites (SWDPR 20), First Homes exception sites (SWDPR 21) and the reuse of traditional rural buildings (SWDPR 26). For most open land, the next plan is the way in.

Away from Malvern and the Worcester edge, growth comes in smaller pieces, among them allocations at Upton and Powick:

Neighbourhood plans add a second layer. The council lists ten made neighbourhood plans, among them Kempsey, Hallow, Welland, Leigh and Bransford and Malvern Town, with Hanley Castle's reviewed plan made in June 2025 and plans for Powick and for Great Witley and Hillhampton in preparation. Each must be in general conformity with the joint plan's strategic policies and may set its own boundary or sites, so we read the relevant one before judging a village site.

A New Plan to 2049

The three councils launched a call for sites for the South Worcestershire Local Plan on 19 August 2026, and Wychavon's planning policy page shows it open until 30 October. The councils say the government's new method for calculating housing need has raised South Worcestershire's figure considerably, and the new plan will run to 2049. Submissions are an information gathering exercise, tested through a land availability assessment, and may cover housing, new villages, self-build plots and employment land.

The Timetable After That

The councils' published timetable sets out the stages:

1. Scoping consultation, timetabled for 18 September to 30 October 2026, alongside the call for sites.
2. Consultation on plan content and evidence, 21 June to 2 August 2027, when the first view of favoured sites is likely to emerge.
3. The proposed plan goes out for comment in summer 2028, from 12 June to 7 August.
4. Examination and adoption. The councils aim to submit the plan in October 2028 and adopt it on 30 April 2029.

Supply, Delivery and Rushwick

No date is given for the next supply report. The June figure clears the five-year target by 678 homes, and slower building on the strategic sites would eat into that. Should a later report fall short, S5 would treat the gap as evidence of need, and well placed land on settlement edges would gain a case ahead of the new plan. The Housing Delivery Test 2025 came out on 17 August 2026 and a new edition follows each year. At 101%, Malvern Hills triggers none of its consequences. A result below 95% brings an action plan, below 85% a 20% buffer the supply already carries, and below 75% S5 without any supply argument. The Rushwick application, which the June report expected later this year, will show how quickly that allocation moves.

Reorganisation on Hold

Plans to replace Worcestershire's councils with two unitaries, the southern one covering Worcester, Wychavon and Malvern Hills, were paused in September. As the three councils already plan together, a merger would change who decides applications more than the plan itself.

What This Means for Timing

• Open land needing an allocation belongs in the call for sites before 30 October, with evidence ready for the 2027 consultation.
• Plots inside the towns and larger villages can be looked at now under policy S4.
• Unsure which applies? Our free review answers that. See our Worcestershire page for the county, and our call for sites guide for each stage.