Unlocking 320,000 Small Sites: How Underused Council Land Could Deliver 3 Million Homes

The hidden opportunity in the UK housing crisis

The UK housing crisis is often framed as a shortage of land. But a growing body of evidence suggests a different reality: the land already exists - it’s just not being used effectively.

Research highlighted by Property Notify shows that local authorities across England and Wales own approximately 320,000 small unused plots of land, each under three acres.

Collectively, these sites:

• Cover close to 100,000 acres
• Could potentially deliver up to 3 million new PAD homes

This represents one of the most significant untapped housing opportunities in the country.

Why aren’t these sites being developed?

Despite their potential, these plots remain largely unused. The reasons are structural:

1. Planning constraints

Small sites often fall into complex or restrictive planning categories, making development difficult to approve.

2. Site viability challenges

Traditional development models are not designed for:

• Irregular plots
• Constrained access
• Smaller footprints

This makes many sites financially unviable under standard approaches.

3. Capacity limitations within councils

Local authorities frequently lack:

• Resources to assess and package small sites
• Delivery partners willing to take them on
• Scalable models for small-site development

As a result, these sites are overlooked in favour of larger, simpler schemes.

The mismatch at the heart of the problem

The core issue is not land availability. It’s a mismatch between policy, design, and delivery models.

Current housing delivery tends to prioritise:

• Larger units (driven by space standards)
• Larger sites (driven by developer economics)

This leaves small sites stuck in a gap:

Too complex for traditional development, but too valuable to ignore.

A new approach: making small sites viable

This is where the PAD small homes concept provides a practical solution.

Instead of forcing small sites into traditional development models, PAD is designed specifically to work with their constraints.

How PAD unlocks small-site potential

1. Smaller footprint = more viable layouts

By designing homes at around 28 m², PAD enables:

• More units per site
• Better use of irregular or constrained land
• Viability on plots previously considered unusable

2. Lower build costs

Smaller, standardised units reduce:

• Material costs
• Construction time
• Overall development risk

This allows schemes to remain financially viable even on challenging sites.

3. Affordability by design

Unlike traditional models, the goal is not to maintain price levels, it is to reduce the cost of entry to ownership.

This creates:

• Lower purchase prices
• Reduced deposit requirements
• Access to ownership for a significantly wider group of people

4. Policy alignment without compromise

While many small sites struggle under current planning frameworks, PAD offers:

• High-quality, self-contained homes
• Compliance with modern building standards
• A clear social and economic benefit

This makes schemes easier to justify from a policy perspective.

Why this matters for local authorities

For councils, unlocking small sites delivers multiple benefits:

• Increased housing supply without requiring large-scale developments
• Better utilisation of public land assets
• New pathways to affordable home ownership
• Low-risk pilot opportunities through small-scale schemes

Importantly, these sites can be developed incrementally, reducing financial exposure while demonstrating impact.

A scalable national opportunity

If even a fraction of the estimated 320,000 small plots were unlocked, the impact would be significant.

Rather than relying solely on large developments, the UK could:

• Activate underused land
• Diversify housing delivery
• Expand access to ownership

This is not a theoretical solution it is a practical, scalable opportunity.

Conclusion: small sites, big impact

The UK does not just need more housing; it needs smarter ways to deliver it.

Small, underused plots represent a vast and largely ignored resource. With the right approach, they can:

• Become viable
• Deliver high-quality homes
• Open the door to ownership for more people

The PAD small homes concept is designed to do exactly that:

Turn overlooked land into accessible, affordable housing - at scale.

Sources

• Property Notify – data on unused council land and small site potential
• UK Government – housing supply and planning policy context
• Local Government Association – council land use and housing delivery challenges