Selling Land in Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire has three unitary councils: Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire and Luton. Each decides planning applications, prepares its own local plan and runs roads and schools. Because the county already has unitary councils, it is not part of the current round of local government reorganisation.

• Central Bedfordshire has the largest requirement. It needed 5,910 homes over three years and delivered 6,182, or 105%.
• Bedford is just short. It delivered 94%, which means an action plan but no buffer or unmet need test.
• Luton is below 75%. It delivered 54%, but the town is tightly built up and almost all the open land around it lies in Central Bedfordshire.
• Green Belt in the south. The Metropolitan Green Belt covers the land around Luton, Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Leighton Buzzard. The north and east of the county are outside it.
• The Chilterns. The Chilterns National Landscape takes in Dunstable Downs and the chalk hills south of Barton-le-Clay.

The Green Belt in the South

The Green Belt around Luton, Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard is the northern edge of the Metropolitan Green Belt. It keeps those towns apart from each other and from the villages around them. Since December 2024, land that does not strongly contribute to Green Belt purposes can be treated as grey belt, and some edge of town sites in the south of the county may qualify. Our grey belt guide explains the test.

The Chilterns

The Chilterns National Landscape reaches into the south of the county around Dunstable Downs, Whipsnade and the Barton Hills. Major development inside it is only allowed in exceptional circumstances, and land in its setting is judged on its effect on views from the escarpment.

Flood Risk and Rivers

The Great Ouse runs through Bedford, and the Ivel, Flit and Ouzel drain much of Central Bedfordshire. There is flood risk along all of them, especially in the flat land of the Ouse valley. Land in Flood Zones 2 and 3 faces the sequential test, although the homes can often be placed on the drier part of a site.

The Marston Vale

The Marston Vale, between Bedford and the M1, was shaped by a century of brickmaking and has old clay pits, landfill and restored land. It is also the Forest of Marston Vale, a community forest with a long term tree planting programme. Ground conditions and restoration history matter on sites here.

Heritage

Central Bedfordshire has some important historic estates, including Woburn Abbey and its deer park, Wrest Park at Silsoe and the parkland at Ampthill. Many villages have conservation areas and listed churches and farmhouses. Development in the setting of these assets is judged on its effect on their significance, which usually shapes the layout and scale of a scheme rather than ruling it out.

Infrastructure

The M1, A1, A6, A5 and A421 carry most traffic, and the Midland Main Line, East Coast Main Line and West Coast Main Line all cross the county. East West Rail is planned to link Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge. Its 2026 consultation proposed new stations on the Marston Vale line at Ridgmont, Lidlington and Stewartby, and major changes at Bedford station.

Because Bedford and Central Bedfordshire are close to or above their requirements, most greenfield land in the county will reach planning through a local plan. That is not a reason to wait. Plans that respond to East West Rail, Tempsford and the new national housing figures will need a lot of land. The main routes are:

1. Local plan allocation. Put land forward when Bedford or Central Bedfordshire calls for sites, and support it through each stage. Councils moving to the new plan-making system will be looking for land. See our guide to call for sites and local plans.
2. Grey belt, in the south. Around Dunstable, Houghton Regis, Leighton Buzzard and the villages near Luton, some Green Belt land may qualify as grey belt.
3. Sites near stations. National policy now supports higher density homes within walking distance of well connected stations. Whether it applies depends on the station and its service.
4. Brownfield land in Luton. Luton's low score gives previously developed sites inside the town a strong case.

Bedfordshire rewards landowners who get their land into the plan early. Much of the county is farmland of the kind that strategic growth needs, and larger holdings are of particular interest to us.