Informal call for sites

Harrow Council has begun work on a new Local Plan for the area. It will outline how the borough may  develop and change over the next 15-20 years. It will provide details on the locations where the development of new housing retail, employment, community uses, etc may occur. The plan will also include policies to determine applications for new development and manage uses. These will help ensure new development: 

• Follow good design principles
• Supports the delivery  affordable housing
• Supports the local economy in terms of creating jobs, sustaining town centres
• supports the delivery of new or enhanced local infrastructure (.e.g. health care, public transport, schools, open spaces)
• Address the causes of and impacts of climate change
• Promote  sustainable development

Informal call for sites submission

Are you a developer, landowner, agent or a site promoter? If you have a site that you think is suitable for potential development (e.g. new housing, employment, community uses, etc); it can be investigated by evidence studies that will inform which sites should be included in the Draft Harrow Local Plan. We are also interested in knowing whether any members of public are aware of any sites or land that may be suitable for different types of new developments or uses (e.g. vacant or poorly used sites or premises), to enable the Council to investigate these further.

To put your site forward simply complete a Site Submission form. It is encouraged that sites are submitted during the preparation stages of the Local Plan process, as the Council may be unable to consider submissions during the later stages.

No fixed deadline has been set for submissions at this stage. A formal call for sites process (including notification to stakeholders on the consultation databases) will be taken as the Local Plan process progresses.

Sites submitted should meet the following criteria:

• It should be wholly or partially within the Harrow Local Planning Authority.
• The size should typically be of a scale exceeding 0.25ha of developable land (or can accommodate 500 sqm of floorspace). Although it should be noted there is no minimum size threshold.
• It should contribute towards meeting Councils strategic goals

Please note that whilst there is no maximum site size. Separate forms for parcels of land which adjoin, or overlap should not be submitted. We only need to see the full extent of the land/site for the assessment.

Submissions by landowners, developers and promoters must include a site plan, with land registry title deeds, with the form, otherwise it may not be accepted. The boundary must be ideally clearly marked on an ordinance survey (OS) base map at a scale which allows the boundary of the site to be clearly identified. The site boundary should be edged in red and any other land within your ownership should be edged in blue. Members of public must provide a map to clearly show the location of their site submission.

Next Steps 

We will review all submitted sites and assess their suitability against the guidelines within the National Planning Policy Framework, Planning Practice Guidance and the London Plan (2021), as part of the evidence-based studies. This will be used to help the Council make a decision on which sites (i.e. allocations) should be included in the Draft Harrow Local Plan.

There will be an opportunity to comment on the proposed allocation and designation of sites for different uses during the formal stages of the public consultation on the Draft Harrow Local Plan. It should be noted that any sites identified as suitable via the Local Plan evidence base does not mean that planning permission will automatically be granted, vice versa.