Are you sitting on a gold mine? Vacant land could earn you £££

With the constant demand for more housing to be built the demand for developable land is higher than ever. So, if you have a large garden, your property is set on a large corner plot, or you own a...

With the constant demand for more housing to be built the demand for developable land is higher than ever. So, if you have a large garden, your property is set on a large corner plot, or you own a commercial building you may have the chance to cash in on this exciting opportunity.

Land is in high demand, with buyers paying premium prices

At Brock Taylor, we are the area’s only member of The Land & New Homes Network, so have both extensive experience at realising your lands’ full potential, and access to a dedicated team of property professionals who can help you every step of the way. We also have established contacts with a wide variety of developers and land buyers who can deal with anything from a single plot, to large scale developments, to ensure that we find the right match for your opportunity.

However, there are many obstacles and hurdles to both consider and potentially overcome, to gain planning permission.

Is the property set in a built-up area, or in a rural setting?

One of the first questions relates to where the property is set, as some properties may benefit from extensive land, but if they are in an isolated location it may prove either impossible of extremely difficult to obtain planning permission, unless it is part of a larger scale development, or been specifically identified by a council as being suitable for development.

Most villages, or parishes, have now created, or are in the process of creating a neighbourhood plan, where the local residents are involved in submitting potential sites that could be developed, in order to help the council, hit their target number of new homes. So, if your area has not yet settled on their plan, this may create an opportunity too.

Typically, councils prefer to give planning to sites that are set in established, or built up areas, as they have existing infrastructure and access to better transportation links and services, so would be considered more “sustainable”.

In addition, the council have created opportunities for commercial buildings, such as office blocks, or shops, to be converted into residential units, through an easier route, which is permitted development. This allows buildings to effectively be pre-approved to be converted. This process has also been broadened to include certain industrial classes and also agricultural buildings too, so this can assist in obtaining planning in more rural settings.

Once you have planning permission

As soon as planning permission has been granted there is then a finite timesacle for the development to commence, as otherwise the permission will lapse. This is currently set at 3 years, for almost all sites.

However, even if you already have planning permission for an area of land to be developed we can still help, or sometimes be able to offer additional advice or assistance, that may

increase the value of the land. This may be due to a review of the property types, or the density of the development too.

Any site with planning is likely to be in high demand, although there are also various ways that an agent can help to ensure that a full market value is realised. With the elation of receiving planning and sometimes high prices offered it is sometimes too easy to take the first offer, without receiving professional advice, or a second opinion first.

An additional benefit of the land owner obtaining planning permission, is that they do then have a degree of control over what is built of the land to. If you are still living at the existing property that will be adjacent to the new development, it means you can create plans that make sure the new building won’t encroach on your property and you can ensure that it fits in with the existing aesthetic.

Other considerations

If your home is mortgaged then you may need permission from your lender to sell off part of your land. So, it’s best to check with them whether there are any restrictions and gain consent from them to release the land before you take any action in selling it.

Even if you don’t think you need permission from them, it is worth letting them know so that this does not cause any future issues.

There also may be preservation orders on particular trees on the land which prevents them from being cut down. If once again you are unsure whether this is the case on your land, you can always contact the council with your details, although this should be undertaken with caution, as it may highlight your future plans too!

Therefore, it may be sensible to check back through paperwork from when you bought the property to see if there were any restrictions detailed in the searches that were undertaken.

Sell your land

So, if you think that you might own a property, or land with development potential, then please do get in contact as we have a wealth of expert knowledge and experience. In the first instance please get in touch and one of our helpful team, for a confidential discussion and free lad assessment.

You can also take a look at our guide to selling land to get you started in the right direction!