Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA), 2021
The Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA) provides evidence on the potential supply of development land across Harborough District. It replaces the previous Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (2015) and Strategic Employment Land Availability Update (2017).
National planning policy requires the Council to have a clear and up-to-date understanding of potential development land within the district. The SHELAA 2021 presents the results of an objective assessment of potential sites for housing, economic and other land uses focussed on sites submitted to the council during a Call for Sites carried out between March and June 2021. It assesses the potential of sites / broad locations to deliver development over the next 0-5 years, 6-10 years, 11-15 years and 16 plus years.
The SHELAA comprises;
- a report summarising the assessment's purpose, methodology and findings,
- an accompanying Site Companion Guide containing site assessment findings for all sites, and
- an interactive map displaying sites and summary results, that should be read in conjunction with one another (see document links below).
To view the SHELAA results for a particular site or location you can use either the Site Companion Guide or interactive map (instructions are included below).
Companion guide: Click on a site in the contents list to view its individual assessment summary / result. Results are ordered alphabetically by settlement. Alternatively, use the contents list to navigate to the first site in a particular settlement, scroll to view others within the same settlement.
Map: sites can be searched in several ways. Either use one of the ‘Choose a Location’ drop down menu’s just below the map title to select a Parish (listed alphabetically) or a SHELAA Site Reference (listed numerically) – the map will centre as per your selection. Or use the ‘Address Search’ facility tab in the bottom left corner. Alternatively, just pan around and zoom in/out of the map.
Double click on a site to open a ‘Search Results’ tab giving a summary of its individual SHELAA 2021 result.
National Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG) sets out advice and best practice for undertaking a land availability assessment. The SHELAA has built on the general approach detailed within the Housing Market Area Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment Joint Methodology Paper (2019) which was prepared by the Leicester and Leicestershire local authorities to ensure a consistent approach across the county.
The SHELAA is a technical evidence study which, along with other evidence relating to housing and economic needs, infrastructure, constraints, and community aspirations, will be used to inform the preparation of a new local plan enabling it to identify a supply of sites to meeting the district's development needs. It is important to note that the SHELAA is not a decision-making document. It does not allocate sites or identify broad locations for development or pre-empt future plan-making or related decisions by Harborough District Council. Neither does it mean that planning permission will be granted on sites that are found to have development potential.
A Frequently Asked Questions document is also available below and this should help to answer any queries you may have.
The following SHELAA documents are best viewed in separate tabs or windows:
SHELAA 2021 (August 2022) Report
SHELAA Frequently Asked Questions