Selling Land in Wychavon

Before adoption, each council measured its housing land separately. The last report written that way, published in January 2026, used the government's standard method because the 2016 plan had passed five years. At 976 homes a year, Wychavon's need was the largest of the three, against 646 for Malvern Hills and 559 for the city:

The sum counted only permissions and windfalls, so the plan's new sites, from the new town to the Droitwich allocations, added nothing. None of the three councils reached five years, and the presumption in favour of sustainable development applied.

One Figure for Three Councils

Adoption changed the method as well as the answer. The June 2026 supply report says the new plan formally establishes a single joint approach, so it tests South Worcestershire as a whole against the plan's 1,178 homes a year and finds 5.48 years at 1 April 2026. No Wychavon result is published, and permissions and allocations are not split by council. What it does show is Wychavon's share of building: 429 of the 1,237 homes completed across the three councils in 2025/26.

Its 20% buffer follows a national rule for decisions from 1 July 2026: the adopted requirement, examined under an earlier framework, is less than 80% of South Worcestershire's current standard method need, 2,150 a year.

What the Joint Figure Means for an Application

Under the August 2026 framework, policy S5 backs homes past a settlement's edge where unmet need is evidenced, and a supply short of five years counts as evidence, though never automatically, and only for land that sits well against the settlement and has the infrastructure it needs. Here the joint figure clears five years and delivery stands at 103%, so an unallocated field outside Evesham or Pershore lacks that evidence for now. Inside the towns and villages, policy S4 applies, and permission should follow unless the harm would substantially outweigh the benefits.

In the Green Belt around Droitwich Spa, S5 does not apply at all. Grey belt there has its own need test, usually shown by a delivery result under 75% or a supply short of five years. Neither holds today, so most grey belt housing cases in the north wait on the next plan, and larger schemes must also meet the Golden Rules. Our grey belt guide explains how the purposes are weighed.

The Next South Worcestershire Plan

The councils' call for sites for the new South Worcestershire Local Plan runs from 19 August to 30 October 2026. Their published timetable runs a scoping consultation alongside it, from 18 September to 30 October, then consultation on content and evidence in summer 2027, the proposed plan in summer 2028, with adoption set for 30 April 2029. The 2027 stage should first show which Wychavon sites the councils favour.

Decisions at the New Town

Decisions on Abbotswood Ridge and the other pending applications, and the infrastructure application due by December, will show how quickly Wychavon Town moves from paper to homes.

Supply and Delivery

The June report gives no date for its successor. Should a later joint figure fall below five years, S5 would regain its supply evidence for well placed land outside the Green Belt. The Housing Delivery Test 2025 appeared on 17 August 2026, with another each year, and at 103% Wychavon clears every threshold. Below 95% would mean an action plan, below 85% a 20% buffer the joint sum already carries, and below 75% unmet need under S5 for land outside the Green Belt, whatever the supply.

What This Means for Timing

• Edge-of-settlement land outside the Green Belt belongs in the call for sites by 30 October, with evidence built for the 2027 consultation.
• Land inside Wychavon's towns and villages can be looked at now under S4.
• Land near Parkway, Throckmorton or Mitton can go into the call for sites now, with the case refined as decisions arrive. Our Worcestershire page covers the wider county.