Expert advice is key with land development

For some landowners, the prospect of residential land development presents a unique opportunity to unlock significant value from their property.

That’s why working with an experienced and trusted team is crucial – transforming uncertainty into confidence and potential into real value, says Robert James, of Bellway Strategic Land.

The first element a landowner needs to understand is whether their land has potential for development in the first place – is it capable of being built on and does the market have an appetite for development in a particular location?

To reach this understanding, one needs to consider planning policy, physical constraints, land use designations, future council plans and housing delivery trajectories.

An experienced town planner, land development consultant or developer can undertake this assessment for you – in the case of developers, often free of charge.

With this core information, it is possible to ascertain the potential development value of your land, so you can consider whether the potential development value sufficiently outweighs its current value, which may of course include any income it provides in its current state.

Without this guidance, landowners may underestimate their property’s value or fail to recognise lucrative opportunities.

Land development involves significant costs, such as planning applications, infrastructure contributions, surveying, and engineering.

A planning application for 200 homes could easily exceed £400,000 alone, with of course, no guarantee of success.

Individual landowners often only control one single parcel of land – the risk associated with a ‘do it yourself’ approach, is often seen as too great, and the decision to partner with a developer, in return for a small discount on the eventual land value, is one the vast majority of landowners take.

No contract should be entered into without experienced legal advice.

Your high street solicitor with little or no experience of land development agreements will not be able to adequately protect your valued asset, and may indeed unwittingly create unwanted complications.

Find a suitably experienced and practised development land solicitor, ideally one who acts solely for landowners, for high quality advice and peace of mind.

Finally, advice on timing and staging can make a significant difference.

An industry expert can help landowners determine when timing is right for promoting a site or submitting a planning application – better to wait an extra three years than risk a refused planning application and have to start from two steps back next time. 

In summary, residential land development can be a wealth-building opportunity for landowners – but only when guided by the right team with an extensive track record and in many situations, a team who’s committed to building the consented site.

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