Councillors vote on 19 October on sending Sutton's draft Local Plan to government: 738 homes a year, 35% affordable, and Green Belt and MOL sites released.
Sutton councillors will vote on Monday on whether to send the borough’s new Local Plan to the government. The plan sets a target of 738 new homes a year to 2041 and would replace the current plan, adopted in 2018.
Full Council meets at 7pm on Monday 19 October at the Civic Offices, St Nicholas Way. Officers are recommending that the plan goes to the Secretary of State for an independent examination (Draft Local Plan Submission to Government, report to Council).
If councillors agree, the plan must be submitted before a national deadline of 31 December 2026. Public hearings would follow in 2027, “not likely before late spring / summer”, the report says.
What the plan sets out
The report lists the main points of the draft, which was approved for consultation in June:
- 738 new homes a year from 2026-27, with most of them directed to Sutton town centre and the district centres
- 35% affordable housing on private sites of ten or more homes, plus new contributions from small sites
- about 111,000 square metres of new industrial space, through denser use of existing areas and new sites
- town centre regeneration, including redeveloping the Civic Offices, relocating Sutton College, gyratory improvements and a tall buildings strategy
- continued support for the London Cancer Hub at Belmont, for life sciences space and jobs
- “grey belt” and Metropolitan Open Land sites allocated for housing and industry, under new national rules
Over the whole plan period, 2024 to 2041, the target adds up to 12,009 homes. The first two years use the London Plan’s 469 a year; 738 a year applies from 2026-27 (Draft Sutton Local Plan, Regulation 19, June 2026, Policy 1).
That is below what the government’s standard method says the borough needs. The same document puts that figure at 1,651 homes a year. The borough has delivered an average of 500 a year over the last ten years.
Where the homes would come from
Most of the supply is on land already built on. The plan counts 9,109 homes on brownfield sites and 2,655 on small “windfall” sites of one to nine homes that are not named in advance (Table 1.1, Draft Local Plan).
Protected open land supplies far less: 125 homes on Metropolitan Open Land and 30 in the Green Belt. Those few sites are still the most contested part of any local plan. Policy 34 of the draft names them:
| Site | Change proposed | Allocated for |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 Metcalfe Avenue, Carshalton (SB34) | Green Belt identified as grey belt | Homes |
| Woodcote Grove House and cottages, Woodcote Grove (SB37) | Green Belt identified as grey belt | Older people’s accommodation |
| Woodcote Green Garden Centre, 4A Woodmansterne Lane, Wallington (SB54) | Green Belt identified as grey belt | Older people’s accommodation |
| Land east of Grove Place, Carshalton (SB38) | Released from the Green Belt | Gypsy and Traveller pitches |
| Former mortuary site, Alcorn Close, Sutton (SB4) | Released from Metropolitan Open Land | Homes |
| Land at Jessops Way, Beddington (SB22) | Released from Metropolitan Open Land | Industry and storage |
| Land west of Beddington Lane (SB23) | Released from Metropolitan Open Land | Industry and storage |
What has changed since the consultation
The consultation ran from 18 June to 31 July. It drew 96 responses, which the council broke down into about 700 separate representations. They go straight to the inspector, according to the report.
Two things have moved since then, and the plan does not yet reflect either:
- A new national planning framework, published in August, says local plans should not repeat or contradict new national policies for deciding applications. The council expects to propose changes during the examination to bring its policies into line.
- The Mayor of London’s emergency housebuilding measures, introduced in March, cut the affordable housing target on private sites to 20% until March 2028. The draft keeps 35% because it “must take a longer term view” to 2041, the report says.
Councillors are also asked to let the Director of Planning, with the chair of the Housing, Economy and Business Committee, agree any changes the inspector needs to make the plan sound.
Why the deadline matters
The report says missing the 31 December deadline would stop the plan going any further. The 2018 plan would then be treated as out of date, and its housing policies would carry much less weight. Officers warn that would make it “difficult to refuse permission for inappropriate development” and leave more decisions to be settled on appeal.
What it means for you
- The comment period has closed. If you responded in June or July, your comments go to the inspector with the plan.
- The hearings are your next chance to be heard. The Planning Inspectorate sets the timetable after submission. People who made representations can usually ask to speak.
- Check the allocations near you. The site list is in the draft plan. Once a site is in an adopted plan, the principle of building there is much harder to challenge on a later planning application.
- You can watch. Monday’s meeting is recorded and published on the council’s website, and members of the public can attend (agenda and papers).
Also on Monday’s agenda
The same meeting takes three motions from councillors. One, proposed by Councillor Nick Mattey, asks the council to pause all expansion and borrowing for the Sutton Decentralised Energy Network, the heat network supplied by the Beddington incinerator, pending an independent review (motion text). The others cover dockless hire e-bikes and standing against hate.
Councillors will also be asked to approve the planning committee changes recommended on 5 October. Our planning news page tracks the big schemes, and our guide to Sutton planning applications explains how to comment on applications near you.
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