HOW TO FIND A PLOT
PART FOUR: IUNDERSTANDING POLICY AND LAND DESIGNATIONS
The devil is in the details, especially when it comes to the policies that play a critical role in determining whether a piece of land is a viable building plot
by Mark Stevenson
IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES
SERIES GUIDE
This extensive series will cover everything you need to know to get the land you need to build the home you always imagined, from assessing a plot’s potential to paying the right price!
T o the untrained eye, finding a building plot doesn’t seem that hard. After all, there are endless fields and paddocks that look like ideal spots. However, finding a plot that stands a chance of securing a planning consent is another matter.
Whether we agree with it or not, much of Britain is made undevelopable by planning policies imposed by our government. Taking South Cambridgeshire as an example, only 6% of its land mass is built on; much of the rest is being used as farmland and therefore unsuitable for development from a policy perspective. While there are good reasons to prevent houses being built in the open countryside, this doesn’t change the fact that planning policy severely restricts the supply of developable land.
To be able to sort the dead ends from the hot prospects, plot hunters must understand those nuances of planning policy that relate to the question of what land can be developed. In this article, I’ll outline the key policies in this area and explain how they should inform your search for a building plot.