Lichfield's housing target jumped 158% to 746 homes a year and the district can show 3.5 years of land. The plan timetable, the big sites and what it means.
Two numbers explain almost every planning argument in Lichfield district right now. The government’s April 2025 rewrite of national policy raised the district’s housing requirement from 289 homes a year to 746, a rise of 158%. And at 1 April 2025 the council could show 3.5 years of deliverable housing land against that requirement, not the five years national policy asks for. This page sets out where the local plan has got to, what the shortfall means in practice, and which sites are actually being built.
The plan the district is working to
The adopted plan is still the Local Plan Strategy, adopted in February 2015 and covering 2008 to 2029, together with the Allocations Document and the policies maps. It is now more than a decade old, which is why the council has to prove a five-year land supply every year rather than relying on the plan.
The replacement has been a long time coming. The council withdrew its proposed Local Plan 2040 from examination in October 2023, after Cabinet recommended withdrawal in August that year. Councillor Alex Farrell said the plan was not appropriate given changes in national policy and the level of dissatisfaction residents had voiced about it, and the council said it would look at a new settlement rather than more dispersed growth (Lichfield District Council).
Work then moved to a plan running to 2043. That has now changed again.
What Cabinet decided in May 2026
At its meeting on 12 May 2026, Cabinet approved a move to prepare the local plan under the new 30-month system in the Town and Country Planning Regulations 2026, and delegated authority to the Cabinet Member for Housing and the Local Plan, working with the Chief Executive, to serve the notice of commencement and publish the new timetable. The decision took effect on 21 May and was called in by Councillor Russ Bragger, the Leader of the Opposition (decision record).
The reasoning is in the papers and it is worth reading plainly. The alternative was to push the Local Plan 2043 to submission by December 2026, but the evidence base and the draft plan were not complete, and the council judged that documents produced in the time left would risk failing the tests of soundness at examination. If a plan is found unsound, it cannot be adopted, and the district would be back where it started. The new route buys time to look properly at options including new settlements, at the cost of a later adoption date. The council’s planning policy pages now refer to a Local Plan 2046.
The land supply, and why it matters to your street
The council’s Five Year Housing Land Supply, published in January 2026 and measuring the position at 1 April 2025, does the sum in public. Local housing need is 746 homes a year, so the five-year requirement is 3,730, plus a 5% buffer of 187, giving 3,917 homes, or 783 a year. Against that, the council counts 221 homes on small sites, 1,743 on committed sites of five or more, 801 on the strategic development allocations and a 165-home windfall allowance, then takes off a 5% non-implementation rate and 40 demolitions and conversions. That leaves 2,744 deliverable homes, which is 3.5 years’ worth.
The practical consequence is the part people feel. When a council cannot demonstrate five years of supply, national policy tilts the balance in favour of granting permission for housing unless the harm clearly outweighs the benefits. That is why speculative applications turn up on edge-of-village sites that no local plan ever allocated, and why the council loses some of them.
The big sites actually coming forward
These are the strategic allocations in the council’s own five-year trajectory, with the homes still to be built at 1 April 2025:
| Site | Homes remaining | Status | Delivery expected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cricket Lane, Lichfield | 520 | Full planning permission | From 2026/27, around 80 a year |
| Fradley Airfield phase 2 | 374 | Under construction | 2025/26 to 2027/28 |
| Land east of Gorse Lane, Fradley | 350 | Outline, subject to agreement | From 2027/28, 100 a year |
| South Lichfield (Deanslade) | 331 | Under construction | 2025/26 and 2026/27 |
Cricket Lane is the one already visible on the ground even before the houses are. The new signalised junction being built on London Road near the Swinfen Interchange is a section 278 agreement funded by Indurent to serve that development, built with Persimmon, and it is why south Lichfield is under temporary traffic lights until autumn 2026. The detail is on our roadworks page.
Fradley carries the largest share of the district’s growth outside the city, with two sites and 724 homes still to come between them.
In the city centre
Not all of it is housing. On 14 July 2026 Full Council approved a further £5.56 million for the former Debenhams in the Three Spires Shopping Centre: £2.84 million to finish the redevelopment and £2.72 million to take full ownership of the completed building. It is being turned into a leisure venue with an Everyman Cinema and food and drink units. Construction is due to complete later in 2026, with the cinema expected to open in 2027 (Lichfield District Council).
The council writing the plan will not exist to finish it
In July 2026 the government confirmed that Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent will be reorganised into two unitary councils. Lichfield District Council goes into the southern authority with Stafford, East Staffordshire, Cannock Chase, Tamworth and South Staffordshire. Elections to shadow authorities are set for May 2027 and the new arrangements are expected to take effect in April 2028 (Lichfield District Council).
A 30-month plan process started in 2026 therefore runs straight through the point at which the authority preparing it is abolished. That is a real question for anyone following the plan, and it is one the published papers do not yet answer.
Frequently asked questions
How many homes does Lichfield district have to build?
746 a year, or 15,666 over the plan period 2022 to 2043, under the local housing need figure produced by the April 2025 revision of national planning policy. The previous target was 289 a year, so this is a 158% increase.
Does Lichfield have a five year housing land supply?
No. At 1 April 2025 the council could demonstrate 3.5 years, on 2,744 deliverable homes against a five-year requirement of 3,917 including the buffer. The figures are in the council’s Five Year Housing Land Supply paper of January 2026.
What is happening with the Lichfield local plan?
The Local Plan 2040 was withdrawn from examination in October 2023. On 12 May 2026 Cabinet approved moving to the government’s new 30-month plan-making system, with the timetable to be published by the Cabinet Member for Housing and the Local Plan. The council’s planning policy pages now refer to a Local Plan 2046.
Which is the current adopted local plan for Lichfield?
The Local Plan Strategy adopted in February 2015, covering 2008 to 2029, plus the Local Plan Allocations Document and the policies maps. Planning applications are still determined against it.
Where are the biggest housing developments in Lichfield district?
Cricket Lane in Lichfield (520 homes still to build), Fradley Airfield phase 2 (374), land east of Gorse Lane at Fradley (350) and the South Lichfield site at Deanslade (331).
How do I see or comment on a planning application?
Through the council’s planning register at planning.lichfielddc.gov.uk, where applications, documents, consultation dates and decisions are published.
Sources
- Lichfield District Council Cabinet decision, Local Plan Update, 12 May 2026 for the 746 homes a year figure, the 158% increase, the plan period 2022 to 2043, the move to the 30-month system and the alternatives considered.
- Lichfield District Council, Five Year Housing Land Supply, January 2026 for the 3.5-year supply position at 1 April 2025, the requirement and buffer calculation, and the strategic allocation trajectories.
- Lichfield District Council, withdrawal of the Local Plan 2040 for the withdrawal and its reasons.
- Lichfield District Council, developing our new local plan for the current stage and the Local Plan 2046 reference.
- Lichfield District Council, former Debenhams development and local government reorganisation.
Planning positions change with each committee and each annual monitoring statement. Checked August 2026. What the district’s homes are worth is on our house prices page.
Have your say
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