District Council invites views on its Strategic Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment Draft Methodology

The Strategic Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA) is an essential piece of evidence, which is required to support the Local Plan process. A SHELAA is a technical assessment which considers the suitability, availability and achievability of land in the district for possible development including for housing and employment uses.

The SHELAA is intends to make sure that all land that is eventually promoted for development is fairly and consistently assessed as part of the Local Plan preparation process.

The District Council has published a Draft Methodology which advises on the process that should be followed when preparing a SHELAA as set out in National Planning Policy Guidance. It is set out into five stages:

• Stage 1: identification of sites and broad locations
• Stage 2: site / broad location assessment
• Stage 3: windfall assessment (where justified)
• Stage 4: assessment review
• Stage 5: final evidence base

The District Council is inviting comments to be made on the Draft Methodology from 7 April 2025 to 19 May 2025. More information including how to submit comments is available on the Council’s website at https://www.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/shelaa/

Following the consultation and adoption of the new Methodology, a ‘Call for Sites’ exercise will be undertaken later this year.

More information regarding the SHELAA is available on the District Council website: https://www.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/shelaa/.

Matt Lamb, Director of Planning and Growth at Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “It is really important that we consult and get a broad range of views on the Methodology we are going to use for the Strategic Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment, as it forms the process we should be following when we consider the suitability of future land that may be identified for development we need across the District in the coming years. I appreciate that this is quite a complex and planning heavy consultation, however we would really welcome as many views as possible in order for us to make sure our processes are right and correct for our area. When we start the Call for Sites stage it will be informed by this consultation.”

Newark and Sherwood District Council is working towards the preparation of a new Local Plan. Once adopted, the Local Plan will guide future growth and development in the district over the next decade by setting out planning policies and allocating land for  new developments. The SHELAA is a crucial part of this process.