Housing Development Hotspots

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

Councils Ranked

200

Total Large Apps

7,155

Est. Housing Units

565,645

Top Council

Central Bedfordshire

Housing Development Hotspots
#	Council	Large Apps	Approved	Total Apps	Est. Units
1	Central Bedfordshire	205	23	2,083	26,952
2	Southwark	175	35	3,796	15,546
3	West Northamptonshire	175	71	3,627	45,050
4	Bristol	129	15	4,252	9,668
5	Ealing	128	90	4,250	11,504
6	Kirklees	115	14	4,048	8,382
7	Wealden	107	30	2,689	1,671
8	Vale of White Horse	101	67	1,843	2,266
9	Buckinghamshire	96	13	6,779	6,904
10	South Gloucestershire	94	9	2,382	6,252
11	Wandsworth	94	0	2,580	3,938
12	Tonbridge	87	40	2,137	2,051
13	Fenland	86	58	1,120	1,816
14	Charnwood	85	12	1,675	3,280
15	Hounslow	83	33	2,352	2,433
16	Medway	79	8	1,836	8,259
17	Cornwall	78	3	9,449	5,612
18	East Cambridgeshire	73	13	796	3,506
19	Bath	72	15	3,554	2,086
20	Dover	70	9	1,613	720
21	East Suffolk	68	30	2,213	1,908
22	Aberdeenshire	68	29	2,095	3,034
23	Windsor	67	6	1,521	108
24	Doncaster	66	31	1,288	2,625
25	Kings Lynn	66	18	2,181	1,410
26	Mid Kent	66	21	3,757	1,747
27	Coventry	65	0	1,378	10,759
28	Hillingdon	64	38	2,100	2,067
29	South Oxfordshire	62	49	2,117	3,305
30	Rutland	61	18	1,171	614
31	Dorset	58	19	6,445	3,088
32	Rugby	55	24	1,030	5,561
33	Leeds	55	19	6,632	4,627
34	Croydon	54	19	3,344	2,663
35	Broxbourne	54	1	1,278	6,294
36	West Berkshire	54	13	2,136	3,679
37	Maldon	53	5	880	1,074
38	Chesterfield	53	5	918	9,624
39	Teignbridge	52	6	1,119	4,696
40	Lambeth	51	19	2,378	3,168
41	St Albans	50	13	2,976	5,932
42	Luton	50	36	1,089	217
43	Selby	48	6	764	1,252
44	Derby	48	5	1,463	6,032
45	Cotswold	47	29	2,576	1,017
46	Brentwood	45	29	1,079	1,352
47	North Norfolk	44	13	2,135	1,564
48	Wiltshire	44	5	5,991	2,210
49	South Kesteven	42	18	1,568	1,461
50	Swindon	42	9	1,397	2,341
51	Mansfield	42	3	524	6,485
52	Test Valley	41	2	2,125	3,329
53	Epping Forest	40	10	2,119	1,164
54	Runnymede	39	15	1,475	661
55	Mendip	39	8	1,420	2,338
56	Thanet	39	13	1,312	2,573
57	East Staffordshire	38	10	1,894	49,280
58	Caerphilly	37	21	1,050	1,465
59	Barnet	37	9	5,280	4,271
60	South Derbyshire	37	10	670	1,846
61	Herefordshire	35	14	5,462	4,028
62	Canterbury	34	8	2,241	3,045
63	Bradford	34	7	3,579	1,372
64	South Downs	34	5	3,839	3,474
65	Tower Hamlets	34	10	2,217	1,629
66	Milton Keynes	33	8	1,309	4,034
67	Durham	32	5	2,778	1,029
68	Sedgemoor	32	27	953	1,422
69	Great Yarmouth	32	3	564	327
70	Haringey	32	23	2,701	746
71	Wakefield	32	14	1,247	1,991
72	Mid Sussex	32	10	2,396	2,682
73	North Yorkshire	31	2	1,739	1,187
74	Cheshire East	31	3	2,799	2,240
75	Horsham	31	7	1,643	1,586
76	Newcastle under Lyme	31	21	789	1,744
77	Hammersmith and Fulham	31	15	2,065	2,375
78	South Cambridgeshire	31	9	3,839	2,181
79	Wokingham	30	13	1,719	1,263
80	Bexley	30	5	1,467	1,300
81	Rotherham	29	10	1,020	1,892
82	City of London	29	9	1,813	1,984
83	Wychavon	29	5	1,841	7,575
84	Bedford	29	3	944	5,231
85	Waverley	28	7	1,803	443
86	Manchester	28	11	3,526	2,602
87	West Oxfordshire	28	6	2,189	3,509
88	Reigate	28	2	1,928	888
89	Harrow	28	11	2,481	1,432
90	Mole Valley	27	2	2,921	4,074
91	Westminster	27	3	6,279	350
92	Westmorland and Furness	27	3	1,929	402
93	Fareham	26	16	939	319
94	North Devon	26	9	989	2,472
95	East Riding	25	9	2,606	621
96	Chester	25	4	2,230	1,665
97	Basildon	25	4	1,426	2,344
98	Solihull	24	4	1,884	814
99	North Somerset	24	10	2,403	1,033
100	Harrogate	24	2	1,187	674
101	West Lothian	24	7	876	1,053
102	Stockton-on-Tees	24	0	787	1,259
103	Staffordshire	24	5	84	557
104	Havering	24	5	2,181	6,657
105	Huntingdonshire	24	7	1,617	5,201
106	Highland	24	1	1,389	3,374
107	Cherwell	23	5	2,221	1,910
108	Chorley	23	3	935	568
109	Harborough	23	7	1,417	2,700
110	North Northamptonshire	23	5	1,324	4,203
111	Swansea	23	11	1,785	2,375
112	Dartford	23	8	624	608
113	West Suffolk	23	6	2,066	1,050
114	Uttlesford	23	0	2,484	2,839
115	Bromley	23	8	4,188	1,808
116	South Ribble	22	3	910	99
117	Kensington	22	5	2,204	1,156
118	Stockport	22	4	2,030	1,166
119	Sheffield	22	9	2,395	2,942
120	Birmingham	22	5	4,347	1,205
121	South Staffordshire	22	3	1,197	1,775
122	Sandwell	22	0	1,374	338
123	Bromsgrove Redditch	22	8	597	2,599
124	Bracknell	22	5	630	445
125	Gravesham	22	7	1,413	1,016
126	East Devon	22	0	1,831	1,682
127	Chelmsford	22	9	1,713	987
128	Liverpool	21	6	2,009	1,363
129	Elmbridge	21	8	1,685	1,149
130	Guildford	21	6	2,416	2,529
131	Lake District	21	2	1,312	510
132	North Kesteven	21	9	1,117	2,082
133	Fife	21	0	2,114	1,415
134	Tandridge	21	3	1,061	1,010
135	Shropshire	20	0	2,146	1,537
136	Eastleigh	20	4	945	1,075
137	North West Leicestershire	20	5	1,082	1,228
138	Antrim and Newtownabbey	20	4	1,520	3,248
139	Brent	20	11	3,017	1,507
140	Stratford on Avon	20	3	1,365	2,270
141	Woking	20	6	1,516	3,134
142	Newark and Sherwood	20	2	1,312	1,924
143	Bassetlaw	19	9	1,156	9,730
144	Dacorum	19	11	1,752	3,611
145	Hinckley and Bosworth	19	7	611	1,013
146	Wigan	19	2	1,177	55
147	Darlington	19	11	581	567
148	Ashfield	19	0	787	175
149	Hertsmere	19	8	1,828	603
150	Lichfield	18	4	771	1,608
151	Exeter	18	1	1,046	1,431
152	Salford	18	1	1,258	273
153	Enfield	18	5	2,852	4,001
154	Trafford	18	0	1,926	200
155	East Lindsey	18	4	1,113	680
156	Hartlepool	18	6	206	665
157	Aberdeen	17	4	1,223	136
158	South Norfolk Broadland	17	1	1,439	603
159	Barnsley	17	2	367	189
160	Conwy	17	2	537	784
161	Greenwich	17	8	2,653	5,466
162	North Tyneside	16	10	1,220	266
163	Wyre	16	3	629	201
164	Tunbridge Wells	16	5	1,609	494
165	Pembrokeshire	16	8	797	397
166	Stroud	16	4	1,791	306
167	East Hampshire	16	0	919	939
168	BCP	15	2	4,987	833
169	Ashford	15	3	1,176	1,093
170	Blaby	15	8	643	2,015
171	South Somerset	15	0	1,565	277
172	Redcar and Cleveland	15	4	634	449
173	Basingstoke	15	6	1,246	1,128
174	Ipswich	14	4	358	6,943
175	West Lancashire	14	5	1,189	2,957
176	Merton	14	0	1,016	451
177	Babergh Mid Suffolk	14	4	3,617	505
178	Chichester	14	4	1,361	934
179	Thurrock	14	2	846	1,899
180	South Lanarkshire	14	3	1,099	482
181	Brecon Beacons	14	6	516	31
182	East Hertfordshire	14	1	2,366	931
183	Warrington	14	6	1,344	1,018
184	Aylesbury Vale	13	5	832	297
185	Stafford	13	1	784	942
186	Sunderland	13	3	703	1,600
187	North East Lincs	13	1	682	1,371
188	St Helens	13	0	920	452
189	Leicester	13	0	784	3,406
190	Gateshead	13	4	943	727
191	South Holland	13	3	938	941
192	Falkirk	12	2	529	776
193	Mid Devon	12	0	729	235
194	South West Devon	12	0	2,398	284
195	Dudley	12	1	1,046	728
196	Tendring	12	0	1,586	268
197	North Hertfordshire	12	0	2,266	326
198	Cambridge	12	3	2,956	897
199	Arun	12	2	1,625	1,309
200	Gloucester	12	3	658	478

Last updated: 22 September 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.

More UK Planning Statistics

Highest Planning Approval Rates by Council Slowest Planning Councils in England Most Planning Applications by Council Planning Appeals by Council UK Planning Application Trends

Search Planning Applications in These Councils

Set up alerts and get notified when new applications are submitted. Free to start.