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The National Planning Policy Framework sets out the national policy direction for the delivery of housing through the planning system. It requires local authorities to undertake a Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) to help identify potential sites for residential development.

The SHLAA is an assessment of how many units can be accommodated on identified sites and the timeframe for when these sites are likely to be available. The exercise also identifies constraints associated with bringing potential sites forward and how and when these can be removed to help improve the potential for housing.

We produced an initial SHLAA that had a base date of 1st April 2008. This was undertaken in full accordance with the Communities and Local Government guidance. We consulted on the draft methodology of the SHLAA and subsequently on the draft findings of the initial SHLAA.

In line with the government guidance on producing SHLAA, we now produce annual updates of the initial SHLAA with a base date of 1st April. Updates take account of changing circumstances on particular sites and the general housing market. The latest draft SHLAA document has a base date of 1st April 2023. Site details have been updated where they have changed. This may include a site gaining planning permission or commencing construction. The update also takes account of new sites that have come forward or have the potential to come forward that were not included in previous versions of the SHLAA. It should be noted that this is a 'snapshot' picture of sites at that time and the status of some sites may have changed since this date

The results of the exercise will help feed into the emerging Local Plan, which will replace the Unitary Development Plan and seek to identify sufficient land for housing for 15 years from adoption of the plan.

Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment 2023

The findings of the 1st April 2023 SHLAA and site specific information is available to download below. Given the number and detail of the sites, the full site listing document has been broken down in order to reduce file sizes and allow for faster downloads and is provided in CSV format, as well as PDF.

The SHLAA 2023 site boundaries are available to view via our online mapping system. View the SHLAA online map.

Please note the SHLAA 2023 shows the position at 1st April 2023 and while work may have started on site, other sites may have been granted planning permission or planning permission may have expired since that date.

A Deliverability Summary Statement has been produced based on the SHLAA 2022 which sets out the five-year land supply position as of 1st April 2022. This will be updated in due course to reflect the 2023 SHLAA update. The five year Supply Statement is available on our housing land page.

Submitting additional sites

The SHLAA will be updated on an annual basis. If you want to suggest an additional site(s) you are requested to do so online.

Please note that sites suggested will not appear in the formal SHLAA document until such time as it is updated. Suggested sites will, however, be put on the SHLAA database and will be considered as part of the preparation of the Local Plan. Sites submitted for residential development as part of the Local Plan 'Call for Sites' will also be considered for inclusion in the next update of the SHLAA.

SHLAA consultation

The SHLAA 2023 has been uploaded for information at this time to help support the emergence of Bury's Local Plan. If you have any comments on the findings of the SHLAA you are welcome to submit comments or discuss them with us.

Brownfield land register

Local Authorities are required to prepare, maintain and publish a register of previously developed (brownfield) land suitable for housing. The brownfield land register was first published on 19th December 2017 and last updated on 5th March 2024, and is effectively a subset of the sites included within the 2023 SHLAA. 

There are two parts of the brownfield land register:

  • Part 1 includes parcels of brownfield land at least 0.25 hectares in size or capable of supporting at least 5 dwellings, that the Council considers to be suitable and available for residential development and for development to be achievable.
  • Part 2 is a subset of Part 1 and will include only those sites that have been granted permission in principle for residential development, having been through the necessary publicity, notification and consultation requirements. No sites have been included on Part 2 of the brownfield land register by the Council at the current time.

A report setting out the methodology and summarising the findings can be downloaded below, together with a .csv file listing all the sites in the format prescribed by the government. Please note that as required by the Government, the full listing includes archived sites which are no longer included in the register. These can be identified by the 'End Date' column.

View the interactive map of brownfield land register.

Please note that all of the sites included in the brownfield land register are also included in the SHLAA, which is a much more comprehensive list of land that has been identified as available for housing. Unlike the brownfield land register, the SHLAA includes dwellings on brownfield sites that are under construction, small sites with a capacity of less than 5 dwellings or 0.25 hectares in size, and sites that are not completely brownfield in nature. Inclusion on Part 1 of the brownfield land register does not mean that the site would automatically be granted planning permission for residential development.

Bury's brownfield land register is licensed under the Open Government Licence (version 3) on the National Archives website.

Self and custom build register

Local Authorities are required to keep a register of individuals and associations of individuals who are seeking to acquire serviced plots of land in the area in order to build homes for those individuals to occupy (known as self-build and custom house building registers).

Housing delivery test action plan

The Council has published its Housing Delivery Test Action Plan for 2019 to demonstrate what it will do to increase the number homes to be built across Bury. The action plan can be viewed on our housing land page.