Assessing a building plot
Whether you’re keen to buy a piece of land or eyeing up your garden’s potential, make a wellinformed decision with this checklist to determine the viability of your dream home
Build It’s land expert Mike Dade considers the potential of a suburban plot with disused garages – planning, contamination and housing supply will be factors in the council’s decision
When choosing your plot, there’s myriad considerations to make. Armed with this guide, you can be confident that you won’t miss anything crucial that could influence a site’s suitability. This includes factors such as what and where you can build, whether the costs stack up, and the chances of gaining planning permission for a design you’re happy with.
If you come up against anything you’re not sure about, the key thing is to seek advice from suitable professionals. That could mean speaking to your local council about planning matters, involving your solicitor for legal considerations or using other appropriate specialists. If you have an architect or planning consultant on board – or if you’re working with a package house company – they will be able to point you in the right direction.
PLOT ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST
Get a solid idea of whether the site you’re considering for your self build has real potential by going through this checklist. Some of these may be more critical to your scheme’s success than others; and many of the points are equally applicable to conversion projects.