Hillingdon Council's Cabinet has endorsed a revised timetable for its Local Development Scheme (LDS), which will guide the borough's development over the next 15 years. The revised plan, which shifts key stages into 2026 and beyond, will be recommended to Full Council for adoption at its meeting on 22 January 2026.
Councillor Steve Tuckwell, Cabinet Member for Planning, Housing and Growth, explained that the existing timetable, adopted in February 2025, was no longer achievable due to significant external factors. These include a more than doubling of Hillingdon's housing target under the revised national standard method, the introduction of a new plan-making system under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, and the potential expansion of Heathrow Airport.
Under the revised national standard method, Hillingdon's Local Housing Need is now calculated at 2,292 homes per year, a substantial increase from the previous London Plan target of 1,067 homes per year. This, alongside the new plan-making system introduced by the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, necessitates a revised approach. The Act mandates revised legal requirements, new statutory gateway
assessments, mandatory consultation stages, and a new suite of national Development Management policies. Crucially, any Local Plan submitted from January 2027 onwards must be prepared entirely under this new framework, with no transitional arrangements for plans part-prepared under the old system.
Councillor Tuckwell stated that proceeding with the current timetable risked producing an unsound and vulnerable Local Plan. The potential consequences of an unsound and vulnerable Local Plan are significant, exposing the council to a high risk of its plan being rejected. The revised LDS offers a more realistic and robust pathway, aligning the Local Plan with these external policy changes.
These external policy changes also include the revised Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) for Heathrow Airport, anticipated for publication in Q2 2026. This statement will define the Government's strategic direction for Heathrow, including proposals for a third runway. The potential expansion of Heathrow Airport could have profound implications for Hillingdon, including the loss of at least 750 homes, substantial incursions into designated Green Belt, and major effects on local infrastructure, transport networks, and industrial land. Significant environmental considerations, particularly relating to air quality, noise, and the scale of construction activity, are also part of these implications.
The revised LDS aims to ensure proper consideration of housing needs, the Green Belt, and the Heathrow expansion. The Council will focus on site selection for housing in the Green Belt, prioritizing previously developed land and Grey Belt first. Proceeding with the current timetable risked producing an unsound and vulnerable Local Plan,
Councillor Tuckwell said. The revised LDS offers a more realistic and robust pathway.
The indicative timetable for the revised LDS includes providing notice for the start of plan making in January 2026, with Gateway 1 in June 2026, and the first mandatory consultation from June to August 2026.
The costs associated with this revised plan will be met from existing budgets and government funding. The Cabinet agreed to recommend the revised LDS to Full Council for adoption. If new planning regulations are introduced before Full Council's decision, the LDS would be adopted as a Local Plan timetable under the new system.
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