We are currently experiencing difficulties with receiving orders for our products and services. This issue may cause delays in processing your orders.

We are working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA)

As a local authority we must assess the amount of land available for housing and economic development in Buckinghamshire, in accordance with the:

National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)
National Planning Practice Guidance (PPG)

This assessment is called the Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA). It is a technical study that determines the suitability, availability and achievability of land for development.

The HELAA is an important evidence source to inform plan-making.

It does not:

represent policy
determine whether a site should be allocated for future development
determine whether planning permission should be granted.

Land allocations can only be made through local plans or neighbourhood plans.

HELAA methodology

We published a draft HELAA methodology for consultation between June and September 2022.

View the draft HELAA methodology, PDF, 1.3 MB

We will publish our final HELAA methodology in 2025.

Call for sites

When sites are submitted to us through the 'call for sites' process we will technically assess them against the HELAA.

To view a list of previously submitted sites or to submit a site, see Tell us about a site for development.