Stevenage adopted its Local Plan partial update on 22 July 2026, holding the 7,600-home target to 2031 and adding six new climate policies. Plus the live schemes.

Stevenage Borough Council adopted the partial update to its Local Plan on 22 July 2026. It is the first change to the borough’s planning rulebook since the plan was adopted in May 2019, and it is the document that now decides every application in the borough, from a rear extension in Chells to the next phase of the town centre.

This page sets out what the new plan does, where the borough’s housing is supposed to go, and which large schemes are actually live on the council’s register right now.

Why a partial update, and not a new plan

Councils have to review their planning policies every five years. Stevenage’s plan was adopted in May 2019, so the review was triggered in May 2024, with just under seven years of the plan period left.

The council’s adopted document sets out the three options it weighed. A completely new plan with a fresh 20-year horizon was ruled out as unrealistic given the timetable and the state of neighbouring authorities’ plans, and would have risked “a strategy that was neither effective nor deliverable”. A full update on the existing plan period was ruled out because rebuilding the evidence base would have taken another one to two years, by which point “the updated plan would be of limited benefit”.

So it took the third option: a limited update, changing only what was most urgently necessary, while committing to start an entirely new Local Plan immediately after. The review concluded that the spatial strategy itself “remains fit for purpose” and that only individual policies needed changing.

That is the honest headline for residents. The 2019 strategy is still the strategy. What changed is the detail.

What actually changed

The update rewrites or adds a specific list of policies:

  • A new Policy SP1 on climate change, replacing the old presumption in favour of sustainable development, plus updates to strategic policies SP3, SP4, SP5 and SP11.
  • Six new detailed climate policies, CC1 to CC6. CC1 says major development proposals “should aim to achieve net zero regulated operational emissions”, to be applied flexibly where that is not appropriate, and any whole-life carbon net zero scheme “will be strongly supported”. The plan ties this to the council’s commitment to a net-zero carbon Stevenage by 2030. CC2 asks all developments to minimise demand for air conditioning through solar shading, passive ventilation and heat management.
  • A new Policy HO14 on houses in multiple occupation, the first HMO policy the borough has had. New and extended HMOs needing permission will be supported where they provide off-street parking to the council’s standards or on-street parking that does not congest the area, secure cycle parking, and enough enclosed bin and recycling storage for the number of occupants.
  • A new design policy GD2, and updates to housing policies HO1 to HO4, HO7 and HO10.
  • Town centre policies TC2 to TC9 updated and TC10 deleted, with flood policies FP1 and FP2 updated and FP3 deleted.
  • Use Class definitions updated throughout, which matters for anyone changing what a shop, office or industrial unit is used for.

Where 7,600 homes are supposed to go

The adopted plan requires at least 7,600 new homes in Stevenage borough between 2011 and 2031. The plan is explicit that this is “significantly above” what the government’s standard method would require, and that it meets the borough’s needs inside its own boundary without relying on anyone else. It is equally explicit about the flip side: Stevenage is small, and with a target this stretching there is no spare land to absorb unmet need from neighbouring districts.

The distribution the plan sets out:

Where Stevenage’s 7,600 homes are allocated, 2011 to 2031 Four horizontal bars. In and around the town centre has a minimum target of 2,950 homes, of which 950 were completed or permitted. A new neighbourhood west of the town has 1,350, none yet. New neighbourhoods north and south-east on land removed from the Green Belt have 1,350, none yet. Elsewhere in the borough has 1,950, of which 1,401 were completed or permitted. Completed or permitted Still to be planned for In and around the town centre New neighbourhood, west North and south-east, ex Green Belt Elsewhere in the borough 2,950 1,350 1,350 1,950 Minimum targets 2011 to 2031, from the adopted Stevenage Borough Local Plan partial update. Completed or permitted figures are carried over from the plan’s original evidence base.

Location Minimum target 2011 to 2031 Completed or permitted Still to be planned for
In and around the town centre 2,950 950 2,000
New neighbourhood west of the town 1,350 0 1,350
New neighbourhoods north and south-east, on land removed from the Green Belt 1,350 0 1,350
Elsewhere in the borough 1,950 1,401 549

Two caveats worth stating plainly. The completions and permissions columns come from the plan’s original evidence base rather than a fresh 2026 count, because the review deliberately left the spatial strategy alone. And the plan’s own delivery arithmetic, at paragraph 5.71, still says the target requires building to accelerate to around 708 homes a year for the rest of the plan period, against a long-run average of about 300 a year since the Development Corporation was wound up. That is an uplift of roughly 235%.

That matters beyond planning circles. A borough that is the cheapest in Hertfordshire to buy in is being asked to build at more than twice its historic rate, and the transport work meant to carry it, including the A1(M) junction improvements, is costed but not funded.

The plan is clear where the capacity sits: the town centre is the single biggest source of homes and the council’s highest priority, with the Town Centre Framework estimating just under 3,000 new homes there. Beyond that, the borough’s ageing neighbourhood centres are treated as low-density, under-occupied sites ripe for mixed-use intensification. Archer Road is being redeveloped now, and the council plans to regenerate a further seven neighbourhood centres within the plan period.

Around 85% of homes built or permitted since 2011 have been on previously developed land, but the plan expects that to fall to roughly 60% across the whole period, because Stevenage has run short of brownfield sites and will need greenfield land to finish the job.

The big schemes actually live right now

These are the applications generating activity on the council’s planning register this summer. References are the council’s own, so you can look each one up.

SG1, the town centre redevelopment. The reserved matters permission is 19/00743/FPM, and it is being built out in phases: Phase 1A covers the Swingate House site off Danestrete. It is still moving. A non-material amendment, 26/00581/NMA, was validated on 4 August 2026 to change the parameter plans, phasing and permitted development restrictions, and a discharge of conditions on green roofs and bird and bat boxes (26/00494/COND) went in on 2 July.

The Life Sciences Campus at Gunnels Wood. On land next to the GSK campus in Roebuck ward, a hybrid permission (23/00293/FPM) covers demolition, new employment floorspace, a revised A602 and Gunnels Wood Road junction, multi-storey car parking and an outline phase with an amenity hub and an ancillary auditorium. A variation of 29 of its conditions, 25/00893/FPM, was validated in December 2025 and has since been granted at committee. A further amendment, 26/00578/NMA, was validated on 3 August 2026 to add a third substation and adjust the detailed and outline areas. The agent is Savills. This is the borough’s biggest employment scheme.

The Oval, SG1 5LW. A council-led hybrid scheme (23/00954/FPM), with Stevenage Borough Council as the applicant, for comprehensive redevelopment of the neighbourhood centre: outline permission for 250 dwellings and 1,200 sqm of commercial floorspace on parcels A, B and D, a new Market Square with up to 2,650 sqm of retail on parcel C, and full permission for 91 independent living homes on parcel E plus a community building including a place of worship on parcel F. It is under construction: conditions on construction traffic, waste, noise, swift bricks, external materials and drainage have been discharged steadily through 2025 and 2026, and a travel plan discharge (26/00529/COND) went in on 17 July 2026 and is still awaiting a decision.

Maxwell Road, SG1 2EW. Permission (25/00400/FPM) for demolition and a new discount food store with car parking, landscaping and drainage. Nine separate condition discharges were lodged on 23 and 30 July 2026, covering archaeology, contaminated land, historic recording, cycle parking, soft landscaping, bird and bat boxes and the drainage strategy, which is what a site looks like immediately before work starts.

Land at Redcar Drive, SG1 2EN. Permission (24/00058/FPM) for 38 dwellings with roads, parking and green space. Conditions on noise mitigation and energy performance were submitted in July and August 2026.

Lister Hospital, Corey’s Mill Lane. Application 26/00427/FPM, validated on 9 July 2026 and awaiting decision, for an extension with rooftop plant to house a new paediatric ward, with demolition of small modular buildings on the site.

How to check or comment on an application

Stevenage runs its planning register at publicaccess.stevenage.gov.uk. The weekly list of newly validated applications is the fastest way to see what has just been lodged near you, and you can search by postcode, street or the reference numbers above. Comments go in through the same system, and the case officer’s name is on every application summary.

Frequently asked questions

When was Stevenage’s Local Plan adopted?

The original Stevenage Borough Local Plan was adopted in May 2019. The partial update was adopted on 22 July 2026 and is the version now in force. It runs to 2031.

How many homes does Stevenage have to build?

At least 7,600 between 2011 and 2031. The plan notes this is significantly above what the government’s standard method would require, and that the borough is too small to take unmet need from neighbouring districts on top.

Is Stevenage building on the Green Belt?

Yes. The adopted strategy includes 1,350 homes in new neighbourhoods to the north and south-east of the town on land removed from the Green Belt, alongside 1,350 in a new neighbourhood to the west.

What is the SG1 development?

The redevelopment of a large part of Stevenage town centre, permitted under reference 19/00743/FPM and being delivered in phases, with Phase 1A covering the Swingate House site. It is the largest single source of homes in the Local Plan.

Does Stevenage now have an HMO policy?

Yes. Policy HO14, new in the July 2026 update, is the borough’s first. It requires adequate parking, secure cycle storage and enclosed waste storage sized to the number of occupants.

Will Stevenage get a completely new Local Plan?

Yes. The council committed to starting an entirely new Local Plan immediately on finishing this update, aligned with neighbouring authorities’ timetables and the emerging joint strategic plan for the region.

Sources

Planning positions move quickly. Confirm the current status of any application on the council’s register before relying on it.