Housing & Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA)
Basildon council maintains a set of reports that document the land that has been made available for possible future development, whether for houses or other purposes. These are the HELAA reports.
This land has mainly been volunteered by private landowners under 'call for sites' exercises over the years. It provided the council with a pool of land that it could select for inclusion in a Local Plan.
However, being included in the HELAA doesn't guarantee inclusion in the Local Plan, nor does it guarantee that an associated planning application will have any greater chance of approval if submitted. Local and national planning policy will determine that.
The HELAA reports can appear complex so we have provided this quick guide on how to navigate them to find land that has been included and its status.
The links below either open as a pdf document or as a new web page in a new window.
This land has mainly been volunteered by private landowners under 'call for sites' exercises over the years. It provided the council with a pool of land that it could select for inclusion in a Local Plan.
However, being included in the HELAA doesn't guarantee inclusion in the Local Plan, nor does it guarantee that an associated planning application will have any greater chance of approval if submitted. Local and national planning policy will determine that.
The HELAA reports can appear complex so we have provided this quick guide on how to navigate them to find land that has been included and its status.
The links below either open as a pdf document or as a new web page in a new window.
Maps 1, 2 & 3 cover Billericay.
They can found towards the end of this document;
basildon.gov.uk/media/11280/Basildon-Council-Appendix-A-HELAA-Review-Addendum-2021-Part-1/pdf/Appendix_A_HELAA_Review_Addendum_2021_-_Part_1.pdf?m=637920264534900000
Map 7 covers Steeple View
Map 8 covers the Barleylands area
Map 9 covers Noak Bridge.
The can be found at the start of this document;
basildon.gov.uk/media/11281/Basildon-Council-Appendix-A-HELAA-Review-Addendum-2021-Part-2/pdf/Appendix_A_HELAA_Review_Addendum_2021_-_Part_2.pdf?m=637920265670430000
They can found towards the end of this document;
basildon.gov.uk/media/11280/Basildon-Council-Appendix-A-HELAA-Review-Addendum-2021-Part-1/pdf/Appendix_A_HELAA_Review_Addendum_2021_-_Part_1.pdf?m=637920264534900000
Map 7 covers Steeple View
Map 8 covers the Barleylands area
Map 9 covers Noak Bridge.
The can be found at the start of this document;
basildon.gov.uk/media/11281/Basildon-Council-Appendix-A-HELAA-Review-Addendum-2021-Part-2/pdf/Appendix_A_HELAA_Review_Addendum_2021_-_Part_2.pdf?m=637920265670430000
Once you have identified an area of land from the appropriate map, make a note of the SSnnnn number.
You can look up the SSnnnn number in the following 2020/2021 document to find further details;
basildon.gov.uk/media/10847/Basildon-Council-HELAA-Review-2020-Volume-3-Appendix-B-F/pdf/3._HELAA_Review_2020_-_Appendix_B-F.pdf?m=637709351443270000
You can also check this 2021/2022 document for any updates;
basildon.gov.uk/media/11284/Basildon-Council-Appendix-B-E-HELAA-Review-Addendum-2021/pdf/Appendix_B-E_HELAA_Review_Addendum_2021.pdf?m=637920268069770000
You can look up the SSnnnn number in the following 2020/2021 document to find further details;
basildon.gov.uk/media/10847/Basildon-Council-HELAA-Review-2020-Volume-3-Appendix-B-F/pdf/3._HELAA_Review_2020_-_Appendix_B-F.pdf?m=637709351443270000
You can also check this 2021/2022 document for any updates;
basildon.gov.uk/media/11284/Basildon-Council-Appendix-B-E-HELAA-Review-Addendum-2021/pdf/Appendix_B-E_HELAA_Review_Addendum_2021.pdf?m=637920268069770000
You will see that in most cases the landowner is fully aware of the land being included in the HELAA reports. Basildon council held a number of ‘call for sites’ periods over the last 20 years where landowners have volunteered their sites for inclusion. There are a few areas where others (land agents, developers?) may have nominated land but we strongly suspect that the actual owner is fully aware and supportive.
It is important to note that these are, in a lot of cases, a discrete assessment of a plot of land for suitability for future development. This work was either done by council planning officers or a third party (Porter Planning Economics). Whilst they have no doubt used a standardised methodology we don’t necessarily agree with how it’s been applied. In too many cases it appears to ‘approve’ Green Belt land for development without fully testing the five purposes of the Green Belt. As such there appears to be a degree of disconnect between these HELAA reviews and documents and separate Green Belt Review documents, and associated Landscape Reviews.
It doesn’t help that the HELAA, Green Belt Review and Landscape Reviews use separate numbering schemes for the same areas so it can be difficult to correlate. We see this as a major failing.
It is important to note that these are, in a lot of cases, a discrete assessment of a plot of land for suitability for future development. This work was either done by council planning officers or a third party (Porter Planning Economics). Whilst they have no doubt used a standardised methodology we don’t necessarily agree with how it’s been applied. In too many cases it appears to ‘approve’ Green Belt land for development without fully testing the five purposes of the Green Belt. As such there appears to be a degree of disconnect between these HELAA reviews and documents and separate Green Belt Review documents, and associated Landscape Reviews.
It doesn’t help that the HELAA, Green Belt Review and Landscape Reviews use separate numbering schemes for the same areas so it can be difficult to correlate. We see this as a major failing.
The full set of 2020-2022 HELAA documents can be found here;
basildon.gov.uk/article/4951/Latest-HELAA-Report-
basildon.gov.uk/article/4951/Latest-HELAA-Report-
The Green Belt & Landscape Review documents can be found here;
www.basildon.gov.uk/article/4948/Landscape-and-Green-Belt
It should be noted that these are all from 20214-2017 and are no doubt out of date. We understand that a new Green Belt review is in progress as of December 2023.
www.basildon.gov.uk/article/4948/Landscape-and-Green-Belt
It should be noted that these are all from 20214-2017 and are no doubt out of date. We understand that a new Green Belt review is in progress as of December 2023.
