Land in Newcastle-under-Lyme

Housing and the local plan

In the government’s Housing Delivery Test 2025, Newcastle-under-Lyme built 94% of the homes it needed over three years: action plan.

The council delivered under 95% of the homes it needed, so it must publish an action plan.

Its adopted local plan is the Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme Joint Local Development Framework Core Spatial Strategy 2006-2026, adopted February 2008 (18 years ago; plans are meant to be reviewed at least every five years).

A new plan, the Newcastle-under-Lyme Local Plan 2020-2040, is at examination.

From MHCLG’s Housing Delivery Test and the Planning Data platform’s local plan records, which some councils haven’t kept up to date. Whether the tilted balance applies to a scheme also depends on the council’s five-year land supply and the site itself: get planning advice.

Planning constraints

Of the 3,424 outlines of an acre or more, 1,558 (46%) are mostly in Green Belt. 201 (6%) are partly in flood zone 3, the highest risk.

From the government’s Planning Data platform. Check any site with Planning check.

Farmland quality

4% of the graded farmland outlines of an acre or more are grade 1 or 2, the best and most versatile land.

• Grade 2114
• Grade 31,901
• Grade 4644
• Non-agricultural123
• Urban642

Natural England’s provisional grades at the centre of each outline. A broad-scale map, so a field survey is needed for any one site.

Electricity network

491 outlines of an acre or more are within 1 km of a primary or grid substation.

The best 2 km square for a data centre scores 79 out of 100, and 6 squares score 70 or more. Data centre site search →