In this section

A register to help us identify the level of demand for self-build and custom housebuilding plots in Wychavon.

What is Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding?

The terms 'Self-Build' and 'Custom Build' are used to describe situations where individuals or groups are involved in creating their own home. The amount of personal involvement will vary. Self-Build projects are where an individual directly organises and commissions the design and construction of their new home. Custom Build homes are where a developer co-ordinates the whole process for the person/ people involved.

What is Self-Build housing?

Where you organise and design the construction of your own home. You then need to choose how, listed below are some of the options available to you:

• self-build one-off home: you manage the design and construction process and are physically involved in part or all of the construction of your home.
• contractor built one-off home: you manage the design process and appoint a contractor to build the home to your specification.
• kit home: you select your preferred kit home and possible establish the foundations, the kit home company then erects the home.
• independent community collaboration: you work with others to acquire a site to split into plots then organise the design and construction of your own home.
• supported community self-build group: a social landlord or the Community Self-Build Agency helps you build a group of homes together.

What is Custom Build housing?

Where you work with a specialist developer to deliver your own home. There are also different options available with this method as follows:

• developer built one-off home: a developer builds a single home that the self-builder completes.
• developer led group project: a developer will organise a group and builds the homes that the self-builder completes.

Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Register

Please note that the council is currently transferring the self-build register from Objective to a new platform GoVocal and therefore the online registration to join the Wychavon District Council Self-Build Register is currently temporarily unavailable. This webpage will be updated to advise when the Self-Build Register is open again, in the meantime, you may wish to email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will send you a registration form.

Local Eligibility

Local eligibility criteria was one of the areas that the Government introduced when it issued the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Regulations 2016 which came into force on 31 Oct 2016. This was possibly because the initial regulations did not prevent individuals or groups from applying to be registered on 2 ,3 or even more registers in different local authority areas. The lack of local eligibility criteria could therefore inflate the demand for self-build for most, if not all, local authority areas.

Wychavon is a predominantly rural area with policies directing development to the more sustainable locations and generally protecting areas beyond allocations or the development boundaries of settlements unless allowed for by exception policies. To protect the area from unnecessary development the council considered that a more accurate picture of demand for self-build should be ascertained. To achieve this, the local eligibility criteria was introduced to ensure that the needs of those with a local connection to the area (i.e. those on Part 1 of the Self Build Register) were taken into account in the determination of any planning applications for self-build. The Wychavon Self Build Register is therefore in 2 parts – Part 1 for those who can demonstrate a local connection to Wychavon and Part 2 for those who cannot. The local connection must be demonstrated for at least 3 years prior to the application to join the Self-Build Register. Further details of how the local connection can be demonstrated are included in the application process.

In accordance with Planning Practice Guidance Self-build and custom housebuilding - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), the local connection test does not apply to those currently serving in the armed forces or to recent veterans of the armed forces, i.e. those who left the armed forces in or since 2017.

Determining Applications for Entry on the Register

We have 28 days to confirm in writing whether the application is eligible for entry in the register and to make the entry on to the register. Where we believe the applicant is not eligible for entry in the register, we must notify the applicant and give reasons.

Notification must be sent to

• the individual; or
• in the case of an association, the lead contact or such other person the authority considers to be acting on behalf of the association.

Requests to be Removed from the Register

We must remove your details from the register within 28 days of receiving a written notification to do so from either an individual or the lead contact of an organisation.

Wychavon District Council may remove an entry from the register if the authority considers that the individual (or in the case of an association, any member of the association) is no longer eligible for entry in the register; and, within 28 days of the decision, will notify the registered individual or the lead contact for an organisation giving reasons.

What happens to your information?

The register will provide an indication of the demand for self-build and custom housebuilding in Wychavon District and will help us inform the development of planning and housing policy.

At this stage, you are not making any commitment - we are just trying to find out how much local demand there if for self-build and custom housing.

The register will not be a public document, but headline information will be published annually in monitoring reports, for example, the number of plots and types of houses required.

Your email address, where provided, will be used by the Council to provide you with a weekly list of planning applications determined by Wychavon District Council and submitted appeals. This is to enable you to identify planning permissions which have been granted for sites which may be appropriate for self-build. From time to time we receive information relating to self-build schemes and products which might be of interest to those on our register; this will also be passed on by email where appropriate.

We will not pass identifiable information from the Register onto anyone outside the Council without your written consent.

Progress Report

WDC Progress Report - November 2025 (Published Feb 2026).pdf

Further Information

Please refer to the Self Build Portal for further information on self-build and custom housebuilding. 

For further information on the Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Register please contact the Policy Team by email using This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or be telephone using 01386 565565.

In this section

Following public consultation in April 2026, Wychavon District Council has now formally adopted the Wychavon Design Code SPD with effect from 24 June 2026.

The Wychavon Design Code establishes clear and consistent design rules to be applied throughout the planning and development process and sets the council’s overall design strategy.

It provides a practical, district-wide framework aligned with national policy to give applicants, officers, communities and decision-makers greater clarity about achieving good design, helping major development respond positively to local character, protect and enhance the natural environment, support healthy and sustainable places, and contribute to the district’s long-term economic success.

The code gives comprehensive details of all design aspects of context, interpretation, strategic and detailed placemaking requirements for new development in the district and sets out required design measures for a development proposal to successfully comply with the code. This is indicated throughout the document as numbered symbol coded musts, that are mandatory, and shoulds, that are strongly encouraged, both are instrumental in delivering best design practice.

Wychavon Design Code SPD

pdf Design Code 2026 SPD (57.77 MB)

Adoption Statement - Wychavon Design Code SPD

Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) are produced to provide more detail on the application of policy, either for specific sites or on specific subjects.

SPDs do not have 'development plan' status, but are subject to public consultation and can be used as material considerations in the determination of planning applications.

Adopted SPDs

Additionally, the SPD's are available to view on the South Worcestershire Development Plan website.

SWDP Website

Wychavon Town SPD

Following public consultation in early 2026, Wychavon District Council has now formally adopted the Wychavon Town Spatial Framework SPD with effect from June 24^th 2026.

The purpose of the SPD is to provide guidance to developers, council officers, stakeholders and infrastructure providers as to how a mixed community of both housing, employment, educational and community facilities will be developed to create a successful new settlement.  The SPD will be a material consideration in determining planning applications for developments at Wychavon Town.   The SPD sets out an overarching spatial framework alongside a series of town wider strategies as required by Policy SWDPR 55.

Wychavon Town SPD

Adoption Statement for Wychavon Town SPD

Schedule of Proposed Changes

Statement of Public Consultation

Retained SPDs

The SPDs adopted against the 2016 SWDP, although remaining extant now only have minimal weight in respect to the preparation and submission of planning applications, and the subsequent decision making process. This applies to the following documents:

• South Worcestershire Water Management and Flooding SPD (Adopted July 2018)
• South Worcestershire Renewable and Low Carbon Energy SPD (Adopted July 2018)
• South Worcestershire Design Guide SPD (March 2018)
• South Worcestershire Planning for Health SPD (Adopted September 2017)
• Malvern Hills District Shop Front Design Guide SPD (Adopted March 2017)

The above SPD's are available to view on the SWDP website:

SWDP Website

Other Associated Documents

• Sustainable Building and Construction Guidance (Adopted June 2026) - Download PDF

South Worcestershire Traveller and Travelling Showpeople and Site Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD)

The Inspectors examining the now adopted South Worcestershire Development Plan Review (SWDPR, March 2026) agreed with the 3 south Worcestershire Councils that it was not necessary to continue working on a specific DPD concerning new development for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople. Policy SWDPR 22 Meeting the needs of Gyspies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople is therefore the key local plan policy for this type of development, but it should be noted that the SWDPR should be read as a whole.

Final SWDPR March 2026 PDF

In this section

South Worcestershire Five Year Housing Land Supply (June 2026)

Read the report

South Worcestershire Five Year Housing Land Supply (January 2026)

This report provides a full explanation of the Five Year Housing Land Supply (5YHLS) calculation for the south Worcestershire Councils (SWCs; namely Malvern Hills District Council, Worcester City Council and Wychavon District Council) as required by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). It sets out the housing requirement, delivery to-date and identifies deliverable housing sites for the five year period 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2030. The report includes an appropriate in-depth analysis of sites with planning permission and those that are allocations in the adopted South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) [superseeded by South Worcestershire Development Plan Review (SWDPR) as of 26 March 2026] to provide additional evidence about deliverability and to ensure that the supply calculation is robust.

pdf Five Year Housing Land Supply Report 2025 Final.pdf (3.22 MB)

Previous Five Year Housing Land Supply Reports:

Addendum to the South Worcestershire Five Year Housing Land Supply (January 2025)

This addendum has been prepared by the South Worcestershire Councils (SWCs; namely Malvern Hills District Council, Worcester City Council and Wychavon District Council) in light of the amendments to the NPPF on 12 December 2024. Several changes have direct impacts on the SWCs’ 5YHLS. This addendum report will outline these changes in turn and provide an updated housing land supply figure.

• pdf Five Year Housing Land Supply Addendum (274 KB)

South Worcestershire Five Year Housing Land Supply (November 2024)

This report provides a full explanation of the Five Year Housing Land Supply (5YHLS) calculation for the south Worcestershire Councils (SWCs; namely Malvern Hills District Council, Worcester City Council and Wychavon District Council) as required by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). It sets out the housing requirement, delivery to-date and identifies deliverable housing sites for the five year period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2029. The report includes an appropriate in-depth analysis of sites with planning permission and those that are allocations in the adopted South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) [superseeded by South Worcestershire Development Plan Review (SWDPR) as of 26 March 2026] to provide additional evidence about deliverability and to ensure that the supply calculation is robust.

Read the reports and accompanying appendices:

• pdf Five Year Housing Land Supply Report 2024 (420 KB)
• pdf Appendix 1 - Completions and commitments (2.04 MB)
• pdf Appendix 2 - Developer Questionnaire (75 KB)
• pdf Appendix 3 - Developer Questionnaire responses (191 KB)
• pdf Appendix 4 - Lapse Rates (168 KB)
• pdf Appendix 5 - Windfalls (151 KB)

Addendum to the South Worcestershire Five Year Housing Land Supply (April 2024)

This addendum has been prepared by the South Worcestershire Councils (SWCs; namely Malvern Hills District Council, Worcester City Council and Wychavon District Council) in light of the amendments to the NPPF on 19 December 2023 and subsequent changes the PPG. Several changes have direct impacts on the SWCs’ 5YHLS. This addendum report will outline these changes in turn and provide an updated housing land supply figure.

pdf Five Year Housing Land Supply Addendum (191 KB)

South Worcestershire Five Year Housing Land Supply (December 2023)

This report provides a full explanation of the Five Year Housing Land Supply (5YHLS) calculation for the south Worcestershire Councils (SWCs; namely Malvern Hills District Council, Worcester City Council and Wychavon District Council) as required by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). It sets out the housing requirement, delivery to-date and identifies deliverable housing sites for the five year period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2028. The report includes an appropriate in-depth analysis of sites with planning permission and those that are allocations in the adopted South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) [superseeded by South Worcestershire Development Plan Review (SWDPR) as of 26 March 2026] to provide additional evidence about deliverability and to ensure that the supply calculation is robust.

Read the reports and accompanying appendices:

pdf Appendix 1 - Completions and commitments.pdf (2.20 MB)

pdf Appendix 2 - Developer Questionnaire.pdf (75 KB)

pdf Appendix 3 - Developer Questionnaire responses.pdf (299 KB)

pdf Appendix 4 - Lapse Rates.pdf (148 KB)

pdf Appendix 5 - Windfalls.pdf (149 KB)

pdf Five Year Housing Land Supply Report.pdf (414 KB)

South Worcestershire Five Year Housing Land Supply (December 2022)

This report provides a full explanation of the Five Year Housing Land Supply (5YHLS) calculation for the South Worcestershire Councils as required by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). It sets out the housing requirement, delivery to-date and identifies deliverable housing sites for the next five years to 31 March 2027.

The report includes an appropriate in depth analysis of sites with planning permission and those that are allocations in the South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) [superseeded by South Worcestershire Development Plan Review (SWDPR) as of 26 March 2026] to provide additional evidence about deliverability and to ensure that the supply calculation is robust.

Read the reports and accompanying appendices:

• pdf Five Year Housing Land Supply Report 2022 (419 KB)
• pdf Appendix 1 - Completions (468 KB)
• pdf Appendix 2 - Deliverability Questionnaire (98 KB)
• pdf Appendix 3 - Deliverability Questionnaire Responses (229 KB)
• pdf Appendix 4 - Commitments (1.17 MB)
• pdf Appendix 5 - Lapse Rate (183 KB)
• pdf Appendix 6 - Windfalls (126 KB)

Please note that sections 12.3, 12.4 and 12.5 of the Five Year Housing Land Supply Report 2022 stated 'March 2037', which should have read 'March 2027'.

South Worcestershire Five Year Housing Land Supply (November 2022 Update)

The South Worcestershire Councils (SWCs) have reviewed their 5 Year Housing Land Supply position for 2022.  In the light of recent appeal decisions, the SWCs are now proposing to adopt an individual district approach for the 5 Year Housing Land Supply calculation.  The result is that Malvern Hills has a 5.06 year supply, Worcester City 3.06 and Wychavon 3.68.  These figures will be used as a material consideration in determining planning applications.

The SWCs will continue to publish a joint calculation for information and monitoring purposes and will seek confirmation of this approach through the South Worcestershire Development Plan Review (SWDPR) which was adopted on 26 March 2026.  The joint calculation results in 3.94 years of housing land supply across the whole SWDP area.

The full report and supporting evidence is expected to be published later this year.

Authorities' Monitoring Report

The purpose of Authorities' Monitoring Reports (AMRs), is to report progress on the local plan against the timetable and milestones set out in the Local Development Scheme (LDS), and to assess the extent to which planning policies are being implemented.

The AMR assesses whether policies are achieving their objectives and whether sustainable development is being delivered; if policies have had their intended consequences; whether policy assumptions and objectives behind policies are still relevant; and if targets set in the plan are being achieved.

• View the pdf South Worcestershire Authorities Monitoring Report 2023.pdf (1.12 MB)  (covering the 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023 period).

South Worcestershire Five Year Housing Land Supply (April  2021)

This report provides a full explanation of the Five Year Housing Land Supply (5YHLS) calculation for the South Worcestershire Councils as required by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). It sets out the housing requirement, delivery to-date and identifies deliverable housing sites for the next five years to 31 March 2026. The report includes an appropriate in depth analysis of sites with planning permission and those that are allocations in the South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) [superseeded by South Worcestershire Development Plan Review (SWDPR) as of 26 March 2026] to provide additional evidence about deliverability and to ensure that the supply calculation is robust.

Read the reports and accompanying appendices:

• pdf South Worcs Five Year Housing Land Supply Report 2021.pdf (444 KB)
• pdf Appendix 1 - Completions.pdf (206 KB)
• pdf Appendix 2 - Commitments.pdf (495 KB)
• pdf Appendix 3 - Large Sites Officer Commentary.pdf (646 KB)
• pdf Appendix 4 - Deliverability Questionnaire.pdf (88 KB)
• pdf Appendix 5 - Deliverability Questionnaire Responses.pdf (536 KB)
• pdf Appendix 6 - Lapse Rate.pdf (117 KB)
• pdf Appendix 7 - Windfalls.pdf (15 KB)

In this section

Neighbourhood Area Application
Approved 18 December 2015

Wychavon District Council received an application for the designation of a Neighbourhood Area by Ashton under Hill Parish Council on Tuesday 3 November 2015. The four week consultation ran from Friday 6 November until Friday 4 December 2015, and no objections were raised on the proposed neighbourhood area boundary. The Neighbourhood Area was subsequently approved by Gary Williams, Head of Planning and Infrastructure Services and Councillor Rob Adams, Portfolio Holder for Planning Policy on 18 December 2015.

Please follow the links below to view the documentation relating to the Ashton under Hill Neighbourhood Area application:

• pdf Ashton under Hill Parish Council's Neighbourhood Area Designation Application Letter (160 KB)
• pdf Ashton under Hill Parish Council's Neighbourhood Area Designation Application Map (1.07 MB)
• pdf Report to consider the consultation responses to the Ashton under Hill Neighbourhood Area Designation Consultation (320 KB)