Government Land Sell-off: 10 Areas With The Most Unlocked Land in England

New build housing developments have become a common sight in England, with 232,820 additional dwellings built in 2022 . The government is unlocking more and more land for residential development, and we think it’s important to look at the impact these developments may have on local communities.

For context, Britain had 25 million homes in 2021 with an estimated 4 million home deficit from the housing market, a shortfall that may take up to 50 years to address. This is, in-part, why house prices in the UK have continued to rise in recent decades, with demand outpacing supply. The average UK home now costs nine-times average earnings. Compare that to the mid-nineties, when it was around four-times average income. 

Even first-time buyers are struggling, with ever-dwindling opportunities to get onto the property ladder thanks to rising rent, a cost-of-living crisis, and increasing property prices. Part of the government’s current directive, its “levelling-up” plan, is aimed at unlocking land in rural and urban areas to give more opportunities to those looking to buy property.

But is this scheme working as intended?
What are the impacts on areas with new housing developments?
Where are they planning to build next?

Top 20 areas with the most unlocked land in England

Homes England own 9,000 hectares of land, roughly half the size of Washington DC, and with 16 billion in capital to invest by 2028 they are primed to develop as much of it as possible. In conjunction with local authorities, they aim to create sustainable housing developments that help serve communities, bring jobs, and increase the pride people have in those communities.

We’ve looked at the data and can show you which areas are most likely to be developed in the coming months and years, as well as the amount of acres available.

As you can see, by far the largest amount of unlocked land is in the East, in places like Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. Welwyn Hatfield, at 130 acres, enough space for 65 football pitches, is just North of London. The total land available in East England is 581 acres, an area of land 20% bigger than the entirety of Monaco. The increase in land unlocked in these areas may be due to their close location, and easily commutable distance, to London. This makes it a highly desirable place to develop new housing.

Other than the East, we see developments all over England with varying housing capacities. The number of houses per acre also varies across the country.

Here are the total acres by region:

Land use varies by developer. For new build housing, a developer will build on average, 9 -18 houses per acre. Usually, rural areas have less houses per acre to accommodate the lower population. This in turn means that rural housing is more likely to have larger gardens.

Top 20 areas with the least unlocked land

In contrast, if we look at the areas in England with the least amount of land unlocked, most aren’t even above 1 acre. The lowest is Preston with a paltry 0.16 acres, which equates to approximately only 650 square metres, a little over three Tennis courts in size.

Is your local area ready for the effects of new housing developments?

Homes England is committed to not only providing land for residential projects but ensuring that local places receive much needed regeneration as well. Especially in areas that have suffered a greater economic downturn in recent years.

The impact on your local area will depend on the size of the development and the type of properties being built. Because urban developments mainly take place on brownfield land (land previously developed or used for industrial purposes), modern developments bring a welcome rejuvenation with raised housing standards for all new homes.

Other than the disruption caused by the construction of new houses, the two biggest factors that impact local environments are the increase in population and the number of vehicles.

At a glance, here is the estimated increase in people and vehicles you could see in the top ten local authorities, once development has occurred.

This influx of people is a double-edged sword. On one hand, more people will bring in more potential for investment in the community, greater diversity in population and rejuvenation of local areas. However, the increase in vehicles could prove dangerous, the disruption to rural areas may be especially unwelcome and there is no guarantee people who move into these areas will work locally.

The main ways new housing developments affect local communities are:

Infrastructure

With a new housing development comes the opportunity to repair and improve existing local amenities. As one of their main goals, Homes England has outlined that making sure infrastructure needs are met is a priority. They endeavour to work with local authorities to listen to the needs and wants of the community to help achieve this.

Unfortunately, this ideal is not always met. Many rural developments are planned as large cul-de-sacs with few of the necessary amenities being added to service the additional population.

Transport

There is often disruption caused by the increased traffic from construction vehicles constantly going in and out of a site. Not to mention the inconvenience if temporary traffic lights have to be used. This can feel like a nuisance but after the job is done, things quickly return to normal.

With an increase in population comes an increase in personal vehicles. The added vehicles can increase congestion, carbon emissions, and air pollution. There is also the phenomenon of car dependency being created in rural greenfield developments. This occurs when the development is built around servicing cars rather than prioritising access to local amenities. This increases the risk of creating car park to car park living, servicing a commute to work outside of the area rather than adding any substantial resources to the local community.

Social

It’s tough to predict the social implications that come from new housing developments. With new housing usually comes an increase in young families to the area. Ideally, this then leads to an increase in community spirit and pride in place. It can be natural to be wary of the effect a new house build will have on your local area, especially if you live in the countryside.

Another aspect of new housing developments, rarely considered, is the strain an increase in population can put on General Practice surgeries and local Police Services. As outlined by the British Medical Association, the pressures placed on GP surgeries are increasing due to a rise in demand and the difficulty in retaining staff, exacerbated further by the increases in population in rural areas.

It is important to bear in mind that the main aim of unlocking land in the UK is to make up for a huge shortfall in the number of available properties. Even though their construction may cause short term disruption, the benefit in the long run means more homes for those that need them.

On average just 10 additional rural homes results in an extra 26 jobs and an estimated £250,000 in tax income for the government, as well as £1.4 million generated for disadvantaged communities.

Also contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence to suggest a consistent impact on housing prices for areas near new house build developments. Although there may be a short-term reduction soon after construction is complete, there is no evidence of long-term negative impacts on housing prices.

The cost of buying a home in the UK

According to Rightmove the average asking price for first-time buyers is £225,000 (as of 2023). The housing market in the UK has been, to put it mildly, unpredictable in recent years. House prices continue to rise, making it more difficult for first-time buyers to get on the property ladder.

First-time buyers make up a huge chunk of overall property sales in the UK, 53% of properties sold were to first-time buyers in 2022. When it comes to the largest new housing development areas, are they in parts of the country helpful to those looking to make the jump from renting to property ownership?

We broke down the average house cost for the top 10 unlocked areas:

And here are the average first-time buyer house prices by region according to Rightmove:

As the data shows, many of these properties will be out of reach for the average first-time home buyer and seem to be much higher than their regional counterparts. These are only averages and it will differ by region, but it will be the case that many new builds lock out first-time buyers from affording a first home.  

Landlords made up 12% of all property purchases across the UK in 2022 but unpredictable interest rates and the uncertain effects of a cost-of-living crisis have seen many landlords selling properties. This has caused the rental market to become unstable with demand outstripping supply.

There is a lot of uncertainty in the UK housing market, leading to many seeing investment in property as a much higher risk than it once was. Because of this, many are either selling their properties in case prices fall or people are waiting until prices reach lower levels before buying.

The environmental impact of house construction and new houses.

40% of carbon emissions in the UK are linked to building usage. The environmental cost of actually erecting buildings also has a significant impact, with an estimated 25% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions caused by construction.

It is important to ensure that the impact on biodiversity from developments is minimised as much as possible. With careful planning, Homes England, working in conjunction with local authorities and developers, are trying to future-proof developments to reduce their carbon footprint and also make more green space for people to enjoy. The link between mental and physical health and access to open, green spaces is well documented.

Pre-existing development plans are difficult to amend in a way that helps to improve the environmental impact of houses. But going forward there will be new regulations to ensure houses are built to standards that lower their carbon footprint and safeguard the environment.

As of 2025, the Future Homes Standard (FHS) becomes mandatory. The aim of this Standard is to ensure all new homes built from 2025 produce 75-80% less carbon emissions. This will be achieved by using more advanced technologies to reduce heat waste from buildings, and improve heating and hot water systems, replacing their low-carbon counterparts with newer systems.

Technologies such as advanced building materials, triple-glazed windows and better heating using heat pumps will be employed in an effort to curb the energy emissions of new homes. Whether these plans are enough to achieve their stated goals is unknown, and there is a risk that the cost of bringing in these more expensive materials and technologies will push house prices up even further, to cover the rising costs of construction.

In order to tackle rising flood levels, Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), a system that mimics the natural flow and drainage of water, is becoming mandatory in 2024. Instead of using public sewers or watercourses, SuDS collects surface water from heavy rainfall and disperses it slowly into the ground.

The idea behind SuDS is to ensure rainwater slowly drains away rather than pooling on hard surfaces, which then rushes off the tarmac or tile and overwhelms drainage systems causing a flood. Due to climate change, the Met Office predicts the UK is set to become warmer and wetter in the winter, drier and hotter in summer, with more extreme weather patterns in general.

Regardless of your stance on climate change, it is clear the weather patterns in the UK are changing, so it is prudent to ensure we are prepared.  

All of this is aimed at helping the UK to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. What it means for homeowners is a reduction in the cost of energy bills, due to the increased energy efficiency of their homes.

Methodology

1. Total acerage per local authority is based upon data available from Homes England Land Hub (Source: Homes England Land Hub)

2. Estimated number of people per region is based upon the average household in the United Kingdom having 2.4 people in 2021 (Source: GlobalData).

3. Estimated number of cars per region is based upon the average household in the United Kingdom having 1.24 cars in 2020 (Source: NimbleFins).

4. All data contained within this content was collated on September 5th 2023.