Hillingdon Council's Cabinet has approved the commencement of a public consultation on the borough's new Local Plan, a crucial step in shaping the area's future development over the next 15 years. The consultation, which will run from July 9 to August 21, 2026, is a legal requirement and aims to gather views on land to be considered for the Local Plan and how residents wish to be consulted.
Councillor Nick Denys, Cabinet Member for Planning, Housing & Property, described the consultation as a consultation on a consultation
but stressed its importance in preparing residents for discussions on Hillingdon's future growth. The plan aligns with the council's ambitions for residents to live active and healthy lives, enjoy green spaces, and reside in a sustainable, carbon-neutral borough.
The Local Plan will set policies for housing, economic development, the environment, design, transport, and infrastructure, replacing existing policies adopted in 2012 and 2020. The new plan will combine strategic and development management policies into a single document, responding to changes in the economy, population, housing market, and environment, as well as reflecting a new London Plan and revisions to national policies.
Key areas of focus for housing include meeting new housing targets set by the new London Plan, identifying new locations for development, and seeking a range of housing types, sizes, accessibility, and affordability. The plan acknowledges the challenge of meeting significantly higher housing targets while also protecting Green Belt land, which constitutes 42% of the borough. Measures to improve air and water quality, and increase the number and quality of trees, are also priorities.
For economic development, the plan aims to harness Hillingdon's strategic location to boost high productivity growth sectors and support economic clusters in line with the Hillingdon Growth Plan, London Growth Plan, and Invest 2035. Specific clusters include: Hayes, Stockley Park and the Old Vinyl Factory as a creative cluster and frontier innovation; Uxbridge and Brunel as the WestTech Corridor; the Heathrow Economic Activity Zone for modern logistics and supply chains; and Ruislip, Northwood and Harefield for a unique urban experience. The plan also seeks to protect and modernise offices and industrial sites, manage the development of tourist accommodation, and enhance town centres.
Councillor Steve Tuckwell, Leader of the Council, highlighted the significance of this work in shaping the borough for future generations and attracting investment. He confirmed that officers have undertaken substantial preparatory work over the past 18 months and are ready to proceed, subject to this consultation's approval.
The Local Plan scoping consultation document outlines the process for incorporating residents' views. Following the consultation, the council will consider the responses received when preparing the Local Plan. A consultation report will be published, detailing the activities undertaken, a summary of responses, and how they have been considered in drafting the Local Plan. This report will accompany the draft Local Plan in the next stage of consultation.
The projected timeline for the Local Plan development is as follows: the scoping consultation runs from July 9 to August 21, 2026. Subsequent stages include Local Plan content and evidence consultation
in winter 2026, a proposed Local Plan consultation from June 15 to August 27, 2027, submission to the Secretary of State by November 1, 2027, and consideration for adoption by May 1, 2028.
Regarding the preservation of green spaces, the plan aims to provide a bold new vision to permanently protect Hillingdon's network of parks, rivers, and green open spaces, including designating areas as Metropolitan Open Land or Local Green Space. It also aims to integrate biodiversity and nature recovery throughout the plan, protecting existing biodiversity value, seeking maximum provision of green infrastructure from new development, protecting trees, and requiring new developments to incorporate Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) to tackle flooding and climate change impacts.
More information on the council's plans can be found in the Printed minutes 25th-Jun-2026 19.00 CABINET.pdf.
