New housing in St Albans City and District Council
We read St Albans City and District Council's planning register every day. We hold 12,591 of its planning applications going back to 2020, and 153 of those made in the last 12 months are for new homes.
St Albans City and District Council can show 5.1 years of housing land against the 5 required (as of 1 Apr 2026), so a shortage of housing land is no reason on its own to approve homes outside its towns and villages.
It delivered 46% of the homes it needed in the 2025 Housing Delivery Test, below the 75% at which national policy treats it as having an unmet need for housing.
Key facts
- Local Plan
- St Albans Local Plan (2026), adopted 9 Sept 2026 (adopted; legal challenge period runs to about 21 October 2026).
- Five-year housing land supply
- 5.1 years
- Housing Delivery Test
- 46% (2025): presumption
- Local Plan sites we hold
- 53 allocations and sites put forward for development
- Planning applications we hold
- 12,591
Applications for new homes, by year
Applications we have identified as being for new homes, by the year they were made. Approved and refused count those decided so far.
| Year | Applications | Approved | Refused |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 134 | 27 | 11 |
| 2025 | 160 | 88 | 41 |
| 2024 | 148 | 83 | 50 |
| 2023 | 158 | 77 | 55 |
| 2022 | 93 | 57 | 24 |
| 2021 | 9 | 5 | 1 |
The largest housing schemes of the last three years
| Homes | Site | Status | Made |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4,000 | Land To East Of Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead Road Redbourn Hertfordshire Scoping Opinion - Construction of up to 4,000 new dwellings (to include 40% affordable housing, 5 extra-care facilities each comprising 70-80 self-contained units, 3 nursing homes (each of 70-80 beds) and 16 supporting… 5/2024/2171 | Approved | 10 Dec 2024 |
| 1,500 | North Hemel Hempstead Land Bounded By Tullochside Holtsmere End Lane Little Revel End Lane And Hemel Hempstead Road Redbourn Hertfordshire Outline application for residential-led mixed use development comprising up to 1,500 new dwellings (including residential accommodation and specialist accommodation for older people) (Use Class C3), a care home (Use… 5/2026/0953 | Awaiting decision | 27 May 2026 |
| 1,500 | North Hemel Hempstead Development Site Hemel Hempstead Road Redbourn Hertfordshire Scoping Opinion - Outline application for residential-led mixed use development comprising up to 1,500 new dwellings (including residential accommodation and specialist accommodation for older people) (Use Class C3 and… 5/2025/0645 | Approved | 27 Mar 2025 |
| 1,000 | Land Between Redbourn Bypass Dunstable Road And Harpenden Lane Redbourn Hertfordshire Scoping Opinion - Mixed use development comprising approximately 1,000 new homes, a primary school, care home facility, community buildings, employment space and green infrastructure including SANG provision. 5/2025/1946 | Approved | 17 Oct 2025 |
| 1,000 | Land Off Sandridgebury Lane And Between The Railway And Harpenden Road St Albans Hertfordshire Scoping Opinion - Development of approximately 1,000 new dwellings to include market housing, affordable housing and specialist accommodation for elderly persons, community facilities including a two-form entry primary… 5/2024/1257 | Approved | 23 Jul 2024 |
| 600 | Land Between Three Cherry Trees Lane And Cherry Tree Lane Hemel Hempstead Application to discharge planning obligation Schedule 3 Part 2 'Affordable Housing' Phasing Plan within the S106 agreement dated 24/04/2019 relating to planning application 5/2016/2845 Outline planning application to… 5/2026/1542 | Awaiting decision | 13 Aug 2026 |
| 600 | Land Between Three Cherry Trees Lane And Cherry Tree Lane Hemel Hempstead Hertfordshire Application for approval of reserved matters (appearance, landscaping, layout, scale) of outline planning permission 5/2016/2845 dated 30/04/2019 for Up to 600 dwellings (C3), land for primary school (D1), land for… 5/2024/0927 | Approved | 10 Jun 2024 |
| 520 | Land Between Bower Heath Lane And Common Lane Harpenden Hertfordshire Scoping Opinion - Development of up to 520 residential units, 60 bed extra care facility, new neighbourhood centre (c.1 acre of commercial / community use) and 2FE Primary School (including early years provision) 5/2024/1602 | Approved | 17 Sept 2024 |
| 472 | Land At Oaklands College Smallford Campus Hatfield Road St Albans Hertfordshire Al4 0Ja Screening Opinion - Proposed development of a hybrid planning application for up to 472 residential dwellings, 80 extra care dwellings, a new local centre and new education facilities 5/2025/0741 | Approved | 9 Apr 2025 |
| 230 | Land West Of Tassell Hall Redbourn Hertfordshire CONSULTATION ONLY - Outline planning application (all matters reserved except access) for the construction of up to 230 dwellings to include affordable housing (Use Class C3), creation of suitable alternative natural… 5/2026/0934 | Awaiting decision | 12 May 2026 |
Fields people have checked here
33 fields in St Albans City and District Council have been checked on Check That Field. These are the fields people chose to look at, not a sample of all the land here.
| Likelihood of being built on | Fields |
|---|---|
| Low | 7 |
| Moderate | 10 |
| High | 2 |
| Very High | 14 |
Towns and villages
See every field round the edge of a town or village, scored for how likely it is to be built on.
Where this comes from
- Planning applications: St Albans City and District Council's online planning register, last read 9 Nov 2026.
- Local Plan: St Albans City and District Council.
- Housing land supply: St Albans City and District Council's published statement.
- Housing Delivery Test: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
- How fields are scored: how the score works.