Selling Land in Leicestershire

Leicestershire has seven district and borough councils: Blaby, Charnwood, Harborough, Hinckley and Bosworth, Melton, North West Leicestershire and Oadby and Wigston. Leicestershire County Council handles roads, schools and minerals. Leicester itself is a separate unitary council with its own local plan, and it is not shown in the table below.

• One council is below 75%. Charnwood delivered 62% of the homes it needed in the Housing Delivery Test 2025, so it is treated as having unmet housing need under national policy.
• Blaby needs an action plan. At 86%, Blaby is above the 75% line but below 95%, so it must prepare an action plan showing how it will improve delivery.
• The rest are building well. Melton delivered 190% of its requirement, North West Leicestershire 184%, Oadby and Wigston 152%, Harborough 139% and Hinckley and Bosworth 134%.
• Leicester's unmet need. The city cannot meet all of its own housing need inside its boundary, and the districts have agreed to take the rest through their plans.
• No Green Belt, but green wedges. Leicestershire has no Green Belt. Instead, councils protect green wedges between Leicester and its suburbs, and gaps between towns and villages.

Leicester's Unmet Need

Leicester City Council adopted its local plan in June 2026. The plan does not meet all of the city's own need, and for several years the councils have used statements of common ground to share the shortfall among the districts. The latest one, from December 2025, was updated after the government changed its housing need method, which lowered the city's figure and raised most of the districts' own. It puts the remaining unmet need at 2,455 homes up to 2036 and a further 8,230 from 2036 to 2046. For landowners the point is that land close to Leicester, in districts taking a share, has a clear policy reason to be considered in the next round of plans.

Green Wedges and Separation

Without a Green Belt, the main protection for open land around Leicester is the green wedge. These run between the city and places such as Birstall, Glenfield, Oadby and Thurmaston, and are protected in local plans. Several districts also protect gaps between neighbouring towns and villages. Land in a green wedge is harder to bring forward, but boundaries are reviewed when plans are prepared.

The River Mease and the National Forest

The River Mease, in the far west of the county, is a Special Area of Conservation. It is sensitive to phosphates, so new homes that drain to sewage works in its catchment must be nutrient neutral. North West Leicestershire says there is no capacity left in the current developer contribution scheme for some settlements, and restrictions apply around Ashby de la Zouch, Measham, Packington and part of Moira. The same area lies within the National Forest, where new development is expected to include tree planting and woodland.

Flood Risk

The Soar runs north through Leicester and Loughborough to the Trent, and its flood plain is wide in places. The Wreake, the Sence and many smaller brooks also flood. Land in Flood Zones 2 and 3 faces the sequential test. A site with one low corner can often still work, with the homes on the higher ground. See our guide to flood risk and development land.

Landscape and Heritage

Charnwood Forest, the high, rocky ground between Loughborough and Coalville, is treated by the councils as a sensitive landscape. The county also has many conservation areas, listed churches and country houses, and the registered battlefield at Bosworth.

The picture differs by council. In Charnwood, the Housing Delivery Test result gives suitable sites outside settlements a stronger case now. In the other districts, the stronger route is usually a local plan, and several of those plans are moving in 2026. The main routes are:

1. A planning application in Charnwood. With unmet need evidenced, a well-located site next to a town or larger village can be put forward now, as long as it deals properly with landscape, flooding, access and infrastructure.
2. Local plan allocation elsewhere. Blaby and North West Leicestershire published draft plans in July 2026, and Harborough and Oadby and Wigston have submitted plans for examination. The next plans under the new system will follow. See our guide to call for sites and local plans.
3. Neighbourhood plans. Many Leicestershire villages have neighbourhood plans, and some allocate small housing sites.
4. Previously developed land. Old yards, workshops and former industrial sites, which national policy supports reusing.
5. Sites near stations. National policy supports higher density homes close to well-connected stations. Whether that applies depends on the station and its service.

Leicestershire is a county where a small change in where your land sits can change the route to planning. A field in Charnwood and a similar field over the boundary in Melton may follow quite different paths, and our review will tell you which one applies.