Please complete this form to suggest a site with development potential.
Guidance for submitting a site
Landowners, developers and other interested parties are invited to submit details of sites for any of the following types of uses for consideration:
- Housing (e.g., market housing, affordable housing, self-build and custom-build housing, older person’s accommodation, student accommodation)
- Employment (e.g., offices, light industrial, industrial and warehousing)
- Retail (e.g., convenience retail, supermarkets, shopping centres and retail parks)
- Leisure (e.g., hotels)
- Community uses and social infrastructure (e.g., schools and health facilities)
- Gypsy and Traveller and Travelling Showpeople accommodation
- Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG)
- Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) offsetting sites
- Open space (e.g., sports pitches, playing fields, parks and gardens)
- Mixed-use schemes
- Any other use
Sites for housing-led development must be able to accommodate 5 or more net new dwellings.
Sites for economic development (employment, retail, leisure and community uses) must be a minimum of 0.25 hectares in area or be able to accommodate 500 square metres or above of additional floorspace.
Before submitting details of potential Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) sites, please refer to the Site Quality Checklist for a SANG (Appendix 2) within our Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area Avoidance and Mitigation Strategy.
Biodiversity net gain
Biodiversity net gain is an approach to development and land management that aims to leave biodiversity in a measurably better state than before the development took place. In some cases, this may mean that the development of land will require off-site improvements to enhance biodiversity elsewhere in order to deliver net gains.
We are therefore interested in receiving submissions of sites where it may be possible to provide biodiversity net gain in instances where it is not possible to achieve net gains on a development site.
All sites should be a minimum of 0.25 hectares in size, and there must be a legal commitment for this use to be maintained for a period of 30 years. Sites must also be formally registered with Natural England as Biodiversity Gain Sites. Sites submitted for this purpose must not be existing private gardens or sites designated statutorily for nature purposes, such as Special Protection Areas (SPAs) or Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Managers of sites identified as Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) are particularly encouraged to apply.
Sites that do not have development potential
Sites located within the following designated areas are not considered to have potential for development and will be excluded from the Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA) and Brownfield Land Register.
- Sites lying wholly within a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
- Sites lying wholly within a European Nature Conservation Site (Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and Special Protection Areas (SPA), including the Thames Basin Heaths SPA)
- Sites lying wholly within the 400-metre buffer zone of the SPA cannot be considered for residential development. However, other uses will be considered on an individual basis, dependent upon the nature of the use proposed and impacts upon the SPA. Sites within the 400-metre buffer zone are encouraged to consider Biodiversity Gain Site use.
- Sites lying wholly within Flood Zone 3b – functional floodplain. Sites within the functional floodplain are encouraged to consider Biodiversity Gain Site use.
- Sites lying wholly within the Public Safety Zone for Farnborough Airport
Please refer to the Council’s Local Plan Policies Map to establish relevant planning policies and designations.
Before you begin
You must give your name and address for your submission to be considered. A separate form must be completed for each site.
Please only submit information about sites located within Rushmoor. Sections need only be completed that are relevant to the site being submitted.
If you are a landowner or developer (or agent acting on their behalf), please provide an Ordnance Survey map/site plan at an appropriate scale (1:1250 or 1:2500) showing the precise boundaries of the site and the area suitable for development. Please also submit a copy of the title register and title plan from the Land Registry to enable the Council to confirm the identity of the landowner(s).
If you are a member of the public or a community group submitting details of sites which you think could be suitable for development, please submit a map (e.g., from Google Maps) and/or photos of the site to enable the Planning Policy team to identify the site for further investigation.
If you submit a site for suggestion, it is not guaranteed that the Council will allocate it for the suggested use. There is no guarantee that the Council will enter suggested sites into the SHELAA or Brownfield Land Register. If a site is included in the SHELAA and/or the Brownfield Land Register, it does not guarantee that the Council will grant it planning permission.
If you wish for land to be considered as a Biodiversity Gain Site, please note that there are government technical and legal requirements regarding formal registration as a Biodiversity Gain Site. For more information please visit GOV.UK - Register a biodiversity site and allocate to a development guidance.
If you have any questions about completing this form, please email us at planningpolicy@rushmoor.gov.uk.
