Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment
Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessments (HELAA) are studies that form part of the evidence base for the preparation of Local Plans. They help identify potential sites that may be deliverable and developable for new housing, employment and other uses over a period that looks forward over the next 15 years (or the period of the Local Plan).
Local Authorities within the Exeter Housing Market Area have worked together since 2007 to produce a methodology for undertaking the housing element of the HELAA (formally referred to as Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessments (SHLAAs). This 2021 version supersedes previous SHLAA/HELAA methodology updates.
HELAA Methodology
A joint methodology sets out how the HELAA process is undertaken in the sub-region. The current version of the methodology can be found below:
Exeter Housing Market Area HELAA Methodology (May 2021)
Terms of Reference and Constitution
Call for Sites 6 February - 14 March 2025
Mid Devon District Council is launching a new Call for Sites, 6 February - 14 March 2025. This will help us understand the most recent information on available sites across Mid Devon and help inform the development of our Local Plan.
We are interested in understanding what land is available for different uses across Mid Devon across a range of scales. We are particularly interested in understanding the availability of small and medium sites as these sites can have the wider benefits of supporting Small and Medium Enterprises, Self/Custom-Build and Community Led Schemes. Government have also indicated that they wish to see small sites of 1ha or less to make up 10% of our housing requirement, of which we are aiming to achieve.
This Call for Sites is launched by the Council to run from 6 February - 14 March 2025. The Call for Sites provides individuals and organisations with the opportunity to suggest sites to the Council that they believe have the potential to be developed for housing, economic and other uses. This Call for Sites follows on from a Call for Sites held 8 February – 22 March 2021. Those that submitted a site within the 2021 consultation have been contacted directly.
The development potential of sites put forward during this Call will be assessed by local authority officers and a panel of representatives from a range of industries related to the uses the sites have been put forward for. The conclusions of the HELAA including those that were submitted in the 2021 Call will be published once the 2025 consultation has closed and the HELAA process completed.
Please note that the HELAA is a technical assessment of sites that could potentially contribute towards the future supply of housing and employment land and other uses. The HELAA however does not set planning policy, but provides background evidence on the potential availability of sites. Submitting a site for assessment in the HELAA is not a planning application. If a site is found to have development potential in the HELAA, this will not amount to planning permission for development. Neither will this indicate that planning permission will be granted, or that the site will be allocated for development in the new Local Plan for Mid Devon. Decisions on site allocations will be made during the process of preparing the Local Plan.
You do not have to own a site in order to suggest it for development, but we do ask that you provide us with a copy of the site's Title Plan and Title Deeds (which can be obtained from the Land Registry for a small fee) and that you speak to the landowner before submitting the form.
A site should only be suggested for housing development if it could accommodate at least 5 homes or it measures at least 0.15 hectares. A site should only be suggested for economic development if it measures at least 0.25 hectares or could provide at least 500m2 of floor space. Sites must lie within the area covered by Mid Devon District Council.
Please note before starting the survey you will need to provide a map at a suitable scale, clearly showing the boundaries of the site and the area suitable for development if different. We can accept information in all common file formats (i.e. pdf, .jpg, .shp, .dbf).
Please also ensure you have a digital version of Land Registry details of each site, including both Title Register and Title Plan as this will need to be uploaded as part of this process (Please ensure the file name does not include any special characters or spaces).
Submitting details of a site will take approximately 30 minutes and you will need to complete the process in one session.
If you are having difficulty submitting the details of a site online, please contact the Forward Planning team at planningconsultations@middevon.gov.uk
PRIVACY STATEMENT:
By responding to this Call for Sites you are accepting that details contained in your submission, such as the site and any maps, will be placed in the public domain and will be disclosed if requested under the Freedom of Information Act. For more information, please view our Privacy Notice.