Housing development hotspots 2026

Where is the most large-scale housing development happening? Councils ranked by the number of major planning applications submitted.

Applications registered 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026. Updated November 2026.

Councils ranked

251

Total large apps

4,613

Est. housing units

417,119

Top council

Central Bedfordshire

Map of the UK showing housing development hotspots for each council — Darker councils have higher figures. London is shown enlarged.

Housing development hotspots
#	Council	Large apps	Approved	Total apps	Est. units
1	Central Bedfordshire	127	21	1,864	13,260
2	Southwark	114	70	3,763	1,005
3	Buckinghamshire	82	6	8,708	8,863
4	Bristol	78	20	3,338	1,328
5	West Northamptonshire	74	47	2,345	2,434
6	Ealing	67	47	3,967	1,474
7	Kirklees	66	27	2,770	819
8	East Cambridgeshire	61	23	1,139	2,728
9	Wandsworth	60	38	3,938	5,008
10	Hounslow	60	40	3,041	3,383
11	Medway	59	23	1,716	2,913
12	South Gloucestershire	55	14	2,591	2,704
13	Wealden	54	30	2,170	1,065
14	Charnwood	48	11	1,196	530
15	Windsor	48	24	2,436	1,315
16	Rutland	48	32	1,199	836
17	Vale of White Horse	44	28	1,352	1,086
18	Mid Kent	43	5	3,039	3,173
19	Coventry	43	9	1,427	509
20	Teignbridge	42	13	1,198	713
21	Broxbourne	42	3	875	1,934
22	Dorset	42	15	5,099	2,708
23	Maldon	41	8	936	3,164
24	Aberdeenshire	41	10	1,880	4,099
25	Cornwall	40	6	8,094	4,394
26	Croydon	38	25	3,125	4,275
27	Tonbridge	38	16	1,640	2,078
28	Dover	37	9	1,259	9,110
29	Leeds	37	17	6,196	2,190
30	Doncaster	37	6	1,554	1,531
31	Epping Forest	34	10	1,818	1,747
32	South Cambridgeshire	33	4	2,722	3,702
33	Kings Lynn	33	13	1,776	585
34	Bath	33	14	2,608	1,376
35	Rugby	33	13	736	1,298
36	East Suffolk	32	6	3,060	5,332
37	St Albans	31	15	2,056	3,439
38	Wiltshire	31	5	4,789	4,565
39	South Oxfordshire	31	21	1,702	683
40	Fenland	30	24	875	1,164
41	West Berkshire	30	10	2,411	653
42	Lambeth	30	25	3,483	491
43	Derby	29	3	1,544	569
44	Test Valley	29	3	1,792	4,907
45	North Yorkshire	28	2	2,796	2,133
46	Runnymede	27	17	1,066	1,157
47	Chesterfield	27	9	761	802
48	Mendip	26	9	1,467	1,101
49	Mansfield	26	12	580	2,305
50	Bradford	25	5	2,525	1,213
51	Durham	25	1	2,670	3,444
52	Selby	25	0	367	819
53	Brentwood	25	17	1,108	1,966
54	Thanet	24	8	830	575
55	East Staffordshire	24	12	1,201	1,467
56	East Riding	24	0	3,103	761
57	Chester	24	0	2,917	3,822
58	Bexley	24	14	2,190	496
59	Horsham	24	9	2,310	6,617
60	Cotswold	24	13	2,336	878
61	Rotherham	23	16	1,105	1,083
62	Hillingdon	23	11	2,866	821
63	Swindon	23	9	1,485	2,661
64	South Kesteven	23	8	1,433	1,402
65	Staffordshire	23	7	74	96
66	Reigate	22	9	1,890	2,295
67	Milton Keynes	22	10	1,062	3,876
68	Bassetlaw	21	8	1,096	410
69	North Northamptonshire	21	4	1,790	2,514
70	South Derbyshire	21	4	664	967
71	Exeter	21	5	1,161	487
72	Highland	21	1	2,863	4,338
73	Dartford	20	17	950	9,338
74	Canterbury	20	7	1,861	3,210
75	Wychavon	20	5	1,512	2,726
76	Huntingdonshire	20	2	1,628	6,963
77	Luton	20	17	1,162	389
78	Caerphilly	20	7	763	518
79	Bedford	19	5	751	698
80	North Norfolk	19	13	2,308	1,413
81	Wakefield	18	6	1,246	1,010
82	Havering	18	5	2,588	3,911
83	Stockton-on-Tees	18	4	978	461
84	Swansea	18	10	1,675	454
85	Great Yarmouth	18	4	341	113
86	Tower Hamlets	18	6	2,222	584
87	Sedgemoor	17	12	737	930
88	Chorley	17	5	1,103	664
89	Hammersmith and Fulham	17	7	2,535	2,234
90	West Oxfordshire	17	1	2,126	2,252
91	Cambridge	17	4	1,973	306
92	Trafford	17	2	2,181	752
93	North Devon	17	2	865	406
94	Woking	16	10	1,403	1,064
95	Manchester	16	6	2,352	1,796
96	Newcastle under Lyme	16	14	807	560
97	Uttlesford	16	2	2,545	2,925
98	Mid Sussex	16	2	1,974	2,273
99	North Kesteven	16	8	988	1,340
100	Bromsgrove Redditch	16	5	1,200	4,555
101	Falkirk	15	4	481	649
102	North West Leicestershire	15	4	1,026	1,225
103	Hartlepool	15	3	213	1,264
104	Cheshire East	15	1	2,029	1,657
105	Sunderland	15	4	768	627
106	West Suffolk	15	3	2,038	1,282
107	Liverpool	15	1	2,201	677
108	East Devon	14	1	1,921	1,299
109	Mole Valley	14	9	1,292	1,355
110	Herefordshire	14	7	3,095	3,316
111	Aberdeen	14	7	1,222	658
112	Barnet	14	12	5,331	3,455
113	Westmorland and Furness	14	7	1,257	606
114	Antrim and Newtownabbey	14	6	782	1,257
115	Stockport	14	1	2,275	2,738
116	Bracknell	14	2	538	3,466
117	South Downs	14	1	3,548	315
118	Conwy	14	6	497	285
119	Lichfield	14	3	716	3,144
120	Basingstoke	13	1	1,460	4,108
121	Eastleigh	13	5	866	1,825
122	Basildon	13	1	1,082	2,852
123	Solihull	13	6	1,631	2,243
124	Ipswich	13	2	500	6,055
125	South Staffordshire	13	3	923	1,251
126	North Somerset	13	7	2,299	3,481
127	City of London	13	7	1,667	10
128	Harborough	13	3	1,637	7,283
129	Chelmsford	13	4	1,788	2,332
130	South Ribble	12	5	793	639
131	Cherwell	12	5	1,805	1,992
132	Haringey	12	11	3,091	260
133	Harrogate	12	2	379	220
134	Ashfield	12	3	661	413
135	Chichester	12	3	1,575	1,256
136	Darlington	12	6	923	1,131
137	Enfield	12	8	4,500	1,770
138	Bromley	11	3	2,867	578
139	Mid Devon	11	2	940	1,268
140	Stratford on Avon	11	1	1,632	2,257
141	Perth	11	0	1,359	879
142	Ashford	11	10	913	531
143	Tandridge	11	1	971	1,210
144	Wokingham	11	2	1,104	880
145	North East Lincs	11	1	811	4,893
146	South Somerset	11	5	1,620	2,205
147	Lake District	10	3	990	55
148	Waverley	10	1	1,629	407
149	Sheffield	10	2	2,921	1,858
150	Newark and Sherwood	10	7	1,445	906
151	Hertsmere	10	4	1,713	10,097
152	St Helens	10	0	890	1,814
153	Hinckley and Bosworth	10	1	774	2,584
154	Tendring	10	0	1,666	3,055
155	Sandwell	10	5	1,447	487
156	Westminster	10	7	8,898	1,289
157	Ryedale	10	1	425	433
158	Redcar and Cleveland	10	5	590	647
159	Oxfordshire	10	4	103	2
160	Brent	10	7	3,261	514
161	South Norfolk Broadland	10	1	2,647	1,778
162	Harrow	10	1	2,570	1,532
163	East Lindsey	10	2	1,116	1,104
164	Wigan	10	6	1,414	3,863
165	Dacorum	9	3	1,748	1,490
166	Folkestone and Hythe	9	1	1,008	1,245
167	Shropshire	9	1	3,304	2,775
168	Guildford	9	1	2,417	515
169	Birmingham	9	4	2,912	544
170	South Lanarkshire	9	2	1,215	1,772
171	Wyre	9	7	832	460
172	Merton	9	2	2,327	503
173	Dudley	8	1	886	1,148
174	West Lancashire	8	3	1,125	1,291
175	Arun	8	2	1,088	752
176	Bolton	8	2	1,602	3,031
177	East Hampshire	8	1	910	1,247
178	Gravesham	8	1	987	1,395
179	Slough	8	1	1,218	739
180	Gloucester	8	1	711	591
181	New Forest (Park)	8	3	1,008	36
182	Islington	8	5	2,975	1,177
183	Salford	8	0	787	1,005
184	Newport	8	2	736	130
185	West Lothian	8	6	736	588
186	South Holland	8	1	721	859
187	Three Rivers	7	2	1,601	920
188	Rhondda	7	2	686	286
189	Lewes	7	0	595	633
190	Stroud	7	0	1,909	1,376
191	Malvern Hills	7	2	916	660
192	Sutton	7	4	1,818	1,421
193	Mid Ulster	7	1	1,062	753
194	Leicester	7	2	722	239
195	North Tyneside	7	2	1,089	968
196	Warrington	7	3	1,180	1,253
197	NSIP England	7	0	7	0
198	East Ayrshire	7	2	599	222
199	Glamorgan	7	6	772	157
200	North Lincs	7	0	603	1,000
201	Fareham	7	4	850	318
202	Hull	7	4	727	179
203	Derbyshire Dales	7	0	796	866
204	Knowsley	6	4	462	428
205	Blaby	6	4	672	1,596
206	Brecon Beacons	6	1	385	33
207	South West Devon	6	2	1,806	537
208	Taunton Deane	6	0	571	1,027
209	Gateshead	6	3	853	800
210	Babergh Mid Suffolk	6	2	3,546	1,304
211	Barnsley	6	4	526	851
212	Blackburn with Darwen	6	4	513	75
213	Tunbridge Wells	6	2	1,697	1,026
214	Cheltenham	6	3	1,730	580
215	Fife	6	3	2,646	859
216	Newcastle upon Tyne	6	1	1,395	1,479
217	Staffordshire Moorlands	6	0	659	388
218	Carmarthenshire	6	0	855	303
219	East Hertfordshire	6	3	1,977	1,037
220	New Forest (District)	6	1	1,030	870
221	Rushcliffe	6	3	963	1,292
222	Ribble Valley	6	2	582	684
223	Thurrock	6	1	1,036	1,857
224	Reading	6	0	885	789
225	BCP	6	1	3,838	812
226	Cardiff	6	2	1,464	203
227	Plymouth	6	0	1,584	702
228	Telford	5	0	594	3,324
229	Elmbridge	5	1	1,836	842
230	Midlothian	5	2	592	260
231	North East Derbyshire	5	0	451	159
232	Bury	5	4	961	489
233	Sevenoaks	5	0	2,165	1,585
234	Stafford	5	0	814	987
235	North Hertfordshire	5	2	2,049	2,107
236	Walsall	5	1	400	734
237	Barking and Dagenham	5	0	1,609	3,106
238	York	5	0	2,294	1,450
239	Greenwich	5	4	3,303	557
240	Newham	5	0	2,428	551
241	Winchester	5	3	1,658	653
242	Old Oak Park Royal	5	2	178	252
243	Rochford	5	0	319	1,799
244	Crawley	5	3	524	129
245	Kensington	5	2	4,232	253
246	Surrey Heath	5	2	1,434	422
247	Pembrokeshire	5	1	597	94
248	Rochdale	5	1	596	782
249	Stevenage	5	1	528	444
250	Neath	5	4	562	560
251	Lancaster	5	1	1,345	491

Last updated: 11 November 2026

Large-scale or 'major' planning applications typically involve 10 or more dwellings, over 1,000 square metres of commercial floor space, or sites of 0.5 hectares or more. These major planning applications represent the most significant development activity passing through local planning authorities and are closely watched by property professionals, housebuilders, land agents, and local communities seeking to understand the housing development pipeline.

The estimated housing units figure is derived from planning application descriptions and may not reflect final built numbers, as development schemes can change during construction or through subsequent planning amendments. However, it provides a valuable indicator of the total scale of residential development planned across each local planning authority and can highlight where housing delivery is most concentrated.

Areas recording high volumes of major planning applications often have strong housing demand, available allocated land, or supportive local plan policies that encourage residential development. These housing development hotspots are of particular interest to developers seeking new opportunities, investors monitoring the build-to-rent pipeline, and infrastructure planners assessing future demand for schools, transport, and utilities.

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