Is Havering Facing A Housing Surge And Just How Much Greenbelt Will Be Lost?

8th September 20268th September 2026 Francesca Lilleystone 0 Comments Greenbelt, Havering Council, Housing min read

From Hornchurch and Upminster to Rainham, Romford and Harold Hill, Havering is facing a huge wave of housing proposals including developments on Green Belt and agricultural land. But just how many homes are we talking about?

The answer is complicated.

There is no single figure for the number of housing planning applications currently facing Havering because the Council receives planning applications every week, ranging from individual houses and conversions to major developments involving hundreds of homes.

But when the major schemes, applications and regeneration programmes are put together, the scale of the development facing the borough becomes much clearer.

And it is enormous.

Havering is already facing major housing proposals across the borough, while new planning applications continue to arrive.

At the same time, the Mayor of London’s Draft London Plan is setting the borough a future housing requirement that could see tens of thousands of additional homes expected to be delivered over the coming years.

For residents, the question is increasingly becoming:

How much development can Havering actually take?

12 HOUSING APPLICATIONS ON GREEN BELT

Perhaps one of the most significant figures is the number of applications involving Green Belt land.

Figures supplied by the Mayor of London to the London Assembly show that 12 applications for new housing on Green Belt land had been received in Havering since 1 April 2025.

That was the second-highest number recorded among London’s boroughs, behind Bexley.

It is important to stress that these are applications — not 12 developments that have been approved.

A planning application does not automatically become planning permission, and planning permission does not necessarily mean a development will be built.

But the figure demonstrates the level of interest in Havering’s Green Belt.

And some of the individual proposals are substantial.

475 HOMES ON GREEN BELT AND FARMLAND

One of the biggest and most controversial applications is at land north of Benets Road and east of Wingletye Lane in Hornchurch.

Application P0417.26 seeks outline permission for up to 475 homes, together with access, open space and landscaping.

The site includes open fields and agricultural land and its Green Belt status has been at the heart of the debate.

Havering’s Strategic Planning Committee has already considered the proposal, with members raising concerns about transport, congestion, biodiversity, wildlife, woodland, the River Ingrebourne corridor and the sustainability of the location.

The site includes Grade 2 agricultural land, while the applicant has argued that parts of the land should be regarded as Grey Belt.

The planning process will ultimately determine how the policies apply to the site.

But for residents, the fear is that productive farmland and open countryside could become a housing estate.

ANOTHER 411 HOMES PROPOSED IN RAINHAM

And Hornchurch is not alone.

In Rainham, application P0810.26 proposes up to 411 homes on land off Upminster Road North and Berwick Pond Road.

The outline application includes the homes, public open space, landscaping, sustainable drainage and a proposed new roundabout at the junction of Upminster Road North and Berwick Pond Road.

Ward Councillor Sue Ospreay has called the application in for consideration by the Planning Committee.

She has described the site as Green Belt land and raised concerns about the scale of the development, highways, infrastructure, environmental impact and the loss of green space.

Residents have also been campaigning against the proposal.

The land is described as agricultural land, meaning that yet another part of Havering’s remaining open countryside is now at the centre of a major housing debate.

972 HOMES AT THE FORMER ROMFORD ICE RINK

Move into Romford and the picture changes — but the numbers remain significant.

The former Romford Ice Rink site at Rom Valley Way already has permission for a major mixed-use development involving up to 972 residential units.

The scheme includes seven blocks ranging from two to 12 storeys, together with retail, medical and community facilities, an energy centre, landscaping and other infrastructure.

The Council’s planning records confirm that the 972 homes form part of the approved scheme.

Further applications and amendments relating to the development have continued during 2026.

This is not a Green Belt development.

It is an example of the alternative approach Havering needs to consider: using previously developed urban land to accommodate substantial numbers of new residents.

BRIDGE CLOSE — ANOTHER MAJOR ROMFORD DEVELOPMENT

Then there is Bridge Close.

The first phase is expected to deliver approximately 383 new homes, with around 35 per cent potentially being affordable housing.

The wider development will also include retail and commercial space, a new three-form-entry primary school, public realm improvements and environmental improvements around the River Rom.

Again, this is an example of development taking place on an urban site rather than a rural Green Belt field.

MORE THAN 3,500 HOMES THROUGH HAVERING’S REGENERATION PROGRAMME

Havering Council itself is also pursuing a huge programme of housing regeneration.

The Council’s 12 Sites Regeneration Programme is intended to deliver more than 3,500 new homes across 12 existing housing sites.

The programme includes the major Waterloo Estate regeneration in Romford, which alone is planned to provide 1,380 homes.

Other schemes include Chippenham Road in Harold Hill, Farnham and Hilldene, Oldchurch Gardens, Maygreen Crescent, Brunswick Court, Dell Court and Delderfield House.

The Council says the programme will increase the number of affordable homes and council-rented homes across the sites.

This is an important part of the housing picture because these schemes are primarily regeneration of existing housing sites rather than development of open countryside.

BEAM PARK AND LONDON RIVERSIDE

Then there is the enormous development pressure in the south of the borough.

Beam Park and the wider London Riverside area have already transformed large parts of Rainham and South Hornchurch.

The London Riverside Opportunity Area has long been identified as one of east London’s major development opportunities.

Beam Park itself is already delivering thousands of homes across Havering and Barking and Dagenham.

This means residents are not looking at individual planning applications in isolation.

They are looking at the cumulative impact.

A few hundred homes here.

Several hundred there.

A major estate regeneration in Romford.

Further development in Rainham.

More homes in Harold Hill.

And potentially thousands more under future London planning requirements.

AND THEN COMES THE DRAFT LONDON PLAN

This is where the numbers become even more eye-catching.

The Mayor of London’s Draft London Plan proposes a housing requirement for Havering that has already generated considerable concern.

The figures being discussed include 12,060 homes associated with the borough’s Greenfield target, alongside a further 9,652 homes on brownfield land.

That gives a combined figure of 21,712 homes.

But it is vital to make clear that this does not mean 21,712 planning applications have been submitted.

Nor does it mean that 21,712 homes have already been approved.

These are proposed future housing targets within the London planning framework.

They are nevertheless hugely important because they influence the amount of housing Havering is expected to accommodate.

GREEN BELT, FARMLAND AND BROWNFIELD

And this is where the debate becomes increasingly heated.

Havering has something that many other London boroughs simply do not have on the same scale:

vast areas of open countryside and Green Belt.

From North Ockendon and Upminster to Cranham, Noak Hill, Harold Wood, Hornchurch, Rainham and Wennington, the borough contains farmland, fields, woodland and open landscapes.

For decades, that land has helped prevent the different communities of Havering from merging into one continuous urban area.

But development pressure is growing.

The 475-home proposal at Benets Road and Wingletye Lane.

The 411-home proposal at Upminster Road North.

The 12 Green Belt housing applications identified by the Mayor’s figures.

And the wider changes to national planning policy surrounding Green Belt and Grey Belt land.

Residents are understandably asking where the line will eventually be drawn.

BUT HAVERING NEEDS HOMES TOO

There is another side to this story.

Havering does need housing.

Families need somewhere to live.

Young people want to remain in the borough.

Older residents need suitable homes.

There is demand for affordable housing and council accommodation.

And the Council itself is spending significant sums on temporary accommodation while trying to increase its housing supply.

So the argument cannot simply be that Havering should stop building.

The real question is where the homes should go and whether the infrastructure is capable of supporting them.

CAN THE INFRASTRUCTURE COPE?

That is perhaps the biggest question of all.

Every new home brings additional demand.

More children potentially needing school places.

More patients requiring GP appointments.

More journeys on already congested roads.

More pressure on public transport.

More demand for water, drainage and electricity.

More rubbish and recycling.

More pressure on parks and open spaces.

More demand for policing, community facilities and other public services.

And residents are increasingly asking whether the infrastructure is being delivered quickly enough alongside the housing.

THE GREAT HAVERING HOUSING QUESTION

When all of these developments are looked at individually, each one can be explained.

A regeneration scheme replaces old housing.

A brownfield site is brought back into use.

A town-centre site is redeveloped.

A new estate provides affordable homes.

But when they are all added together, the picture looks very different.

Havering is not facing one housing development.

It is facing multiple major developments across almost every part of the borough.

Some are on brownfield land.

Some are regeneration projects.

Some are on land that residents describe as Green Belt.

Some involve agricultural land.

And others are part of much larger strategic plans for the future.

The question for Havering is therefore no longer simply:

“Where can we build?”

It is:

“How much can we build without changing the borough beyond recognition?”

Because once a field becomes a housing estate, it is extremely difficult to turn it back into farmland.

And once thousands of additional residents arrive, the roads, schools, doctors’ surgeries, transport network and other services have to cope with them.

Havering has a housing challenge.

But it also has an infrastructure challenge.

And with major developments already progressing, new applications continuing to arrive and potentially more than 21,000 homes within the proposed future housing requirement, the debate over the borough’s future is only going to become bigger.

The question is not whether Havering will change.

It is how much it will change — and whether the infrastructure will change with it.

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