An 818-flat plan revives the Master Brewer site, Hillingdon's new Local Plan slips to 2028, and the Heathrow runway consultation closes 1 September.

Planning in Hillingdon is currently three stories at once: a borough still deciding applications against a Local Plan whose strategic half dates from 2012, a new plan that has slipped to 2028, and, hanging over everything, the largest infrastructure proposal in Europe at the borough’s southern edge. This page sets out where each one stands, from the council’s own papers, and how to see and comment on the applications that affect your street.

The quick answer

Hillingdon’s planning decisions are made today against the Local Plan Part 1 of November 2012 and Part 2 of January 2020, alongside the London Plan 2021. A single replacement Local Plan is being written, but the council reset its timetable in January 2026 and now aims for adoption in mid-2028. Meanwhile the schemes moving this summer are big ones: up to 818 flats proposed for the long-vacant Master Brewer site at Hillingdon Circus, the final phase of the former RAF Uxbridge build-out, and the consultation on Heathrow’s third runway, open until 1 September 2026.

The plan that decides applications today

The development plan is older than most people assume. Its strategic policies were adopted in November 2012; the detailed development management policies and site allocations followed in January 2020, and the London Plan was adopted in March 2021 (Hillingdon’s adopted Local Development Scheme, December 2025).

The numbers underneath have moved against the borough. The London Plan asks Hillingdon for 10,830 homes over the decade to 2028/29 (London Plan, Table 4.1), roughly 1,083 a year. The government’s latest standard method puts the borough’s assessed housing need at 2,292 homes a year, more than double that (Cabinet report, January 2026). And on the official Housing Delivery Test, Hillingdon delivered 2,617 homes against a 2,887 requirement over the three measured years, 91%, enough to require an action plan (Housing Delivery Test 2023 measurement).

Hillingdon housing numbers: target, delivery and assessed need Horizontal bar chart in homes per year. London Plan target 1,083 homes a year. Actual delivery, average of the three Housing Delivery Test years, 872 homes a year. New standard method assessed need 2,292 homes a year. Sources: London Plan Table 4.1, Housing Delivery Test 2023, Hillingdon Cabinet report January 2026. Homes per year: what Hillingdon is asked for vs what gets built London Plan Table 4.1; Housing Delivery Test 2023 (average of 2020/21 to 2022/23); Hillingdon Cabinet report, Jan 2026 Built (recent average) 872 a year London Plan target 1,083 a year New assessed need 2,292 a year The new Local Plan must reckon with the 2,292 figure; the council calls it "more than double" the current target and cites it, along with Heathrow expansion, as a reason the plan timetable was reset in January 2026.
The gap between what gets built and what the new standard method demands is the central tension in Hillingdon planning.

The new Local Plan: now aiming for 2028

The council had planned to publish a draft new Local Plan in January 2026 and submit it within the year. In January 2026 Cabinet scrapped that programme as “no longer deliverable” and adopted a new one under the post-2027 plan-making system: scoping consultation in the first half of 2026, a first full consultation late in 2026, a second in mid-2027, submission at the end of 2027, examination through spring 2028 and adoption in mid-2028 (Cabinet report, LDS appendix).

The council’s stated reasons: the doubled housing need figure, a new national set of development management policies, and Heathrow, whose third runway it says would cost the borough “at least 750 homes” and cut into Green Belt, all of which the new plan has to absorb.

What it means for you: until 2028, applications keep being decided against the 2012/2020 plan, and where its policies are out of date the national presumption in favour of sustainable development gains weight. That is the technical backdrop to most of the borough’s contested approvals.

Master Brewer site: up to 818 flats at Hillingdon Circus

The borough’s most-watched application is back. The former Master Brewer motel site at Hillingdon Circus, vacant since 2012, has a new proposal from Jaysam Contractors for up to 818 flats in blocks of 6 to 13 storeys, currently at the environmental screening stage (ref 4266/APP/2026/1646) ahead of an expected full application (Ruislip Residents’ Association, July 2026). An earlier 514-home scheme for the site was approved by the Mayor of London in 2020 but never built, so the new plan is a substantial step up in scale on a site next to Hillingdon tube station.

St Andrew’s Park: the RAF Uxbridge build-out nears its end

The former RAF Uxbridge site, a short walk from the town centre, is the borough’s biggest completed regeneration: around 1,000 of a planned 1,300 or so homes are built, along with John Locke Primary School. The final phase of 356 apartments, 125 of them affordable, was approved in May 2025, and the developer says it is now focused on securing the remaining approvals rather than selling new homes (St Andrew’s Park, approval report). The Battle of Britain Bunker museum sits inside the site, one of the borough’s best days out.

Down in Hayes, the other giant scheme continues: Hayes Village, Barratt London’s redevelopment of the 30-acre former Nestlé factory, is consented for 1,386 homes plus 230,000 sq ft of employment space (Barratt).

Heathrow: the consultation that closes 1 September

The government published its draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement, the planning framework for the third runway, on 18 June 2026; the consultation closes at 11:59pm on 1 September 2026 (gov.uk). Heathrow’s own timeline aims to secure planning permission by 2029 (Heathrow). For Hillingdon that is not an abstract question: the council’s own papers cite the loss of at least 750 homes and Green Belt incursion, and the physical works would include rerouting the M25 into a tunnel beside the airport. Separately, the council approved Heathrow’s easterly alternation application in December 2025, which changes how runways alternate but “does not allow for runway expansion” (Hillingdon Council).

How to see and comment on applications

Hillingdon’s application register runs on its own search system at planning.hillingdon.gov.uk/OcellaWeb/planningSearch: search by reference, street, ward or agent, or use the received-date range to see what has come in recently (there is no published weekly list, so a date-range search is the substitute). The council says the quickest way to comment is the “Enter comment” button on the application record (planning search guide). Contested applications go to the Planning Committee, which next meets on 3 September and 6 October 2026; agendas, papers and decisions are published on the council’s committee pages.

Where all these homes meet the market, from the borough average to the £2.7 million street, is on our Uxbridge house prices page.

Frequently asked questions

What is happening on the Master Brewer site?

A proposal for up to 818 flats in blocks of 6 to 13 storeys is at the environmental screening stage (ref 4266/APP/2026/1646), with a full application expected to follow. The site by Hillingdon Circus has been empty since 2012, and a smaller 514-home scheme approved in 2020 was never built.

How many houses is Hillingdon supposed to build?

The London Plan target is 10,830 homes over the decade to 2028/29, about 1,083 a year. The government’s newer standard method assesses the need at 2,292 a year, and recent delivery has averaged under 900, which is the gap the 2028 Local Plan has to confront.

When will Hillingdon get a new Local Plan?

Mid-2028, on the timetable adopted in January 2026: first public consultation late 2026, a second in 2027, submission at the end of 2027 and examination in 2028. Until then the 2012/2020 plan applies.

Will the third runway at Heathrow go ahead?

The framework is moving: the draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement is out for consultation until 1 September 2026, and Heathrow aims to secure planning permission by 2029, with the government targeting an operational runway within a decade. Anyone can respond to the consultation on gov.uk.

Where can I see planning applications for Uxbridge?

On the council’s search at planning.hillingdon.gov.uk/OcellaWeb/planningSearch. Use the received-date range to browse recent submissions, and comment through the application record itself.

Sources

Scheme details and dates come from the documents linked above and change as applications progress; check the planning register for the current status of any application. Last checked 8 August 2026.