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Before I get myself onto the property ladder and after watching numerous self build home TV shows, my girlfriend and I are looking into the possibility of buying some land and building our own home. At the moment we're at the earliest of all stages but being one to never miss a bargain and after some googleing, I have come across this bit of land.
http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/42897718#s5wU62wZ1Y3YJomU.97
It mentions that subject to obtaining planning permission... Does anyone have any experience of gaining planning permission for a complete new build; or even better, does anyone think that the permission would likely be granted for a home to be built on here?
Any help would be welcomed!!
Gaz
Looking at the way they have parcelled that up as 17 plots of land screams to me that they know damn well that can't get planning permission for it themselves, as otherwise they would have.
I am sure you realise that there is a real potential that you could buy the land and have planning refused don't you? What would you do then?
Have you checked to see if planning has been applied for on it before?
[quote=ninfan ]Looking at the way they have parcelled that up as 17 plots of land screams to me that they know damn well that can't get planning permission for it themselves, as otherwise they would have.
My expectation to any land like that being sold without planning permission is that they can't get it - because if you could you would before you sold it, given how much more land with planning permission is worth.
No direct experience, but I know a bit about the planning process - you'll want to start here: http://www.dudley.gov.uk/resident/planning/planning-policy/local-plan/ - check what it says in the local plan about settlement boundaries and planning policy which might apply. The most important thing though is whether they have a 5 Year Housing Land Supply - if they do and it's not allocated for development in the local plan, then you have pretty much no hope. If not, then you might stand a chance at a planning appeal...
My expectation to any land like that being sold without planning permission is that they can't get it - because if you could you would before you sold it, given how much more land with planning permission is worth.
^This.
I do realise that we could buy the land and then get permission refused. Just why I'm asking as £20,000 seems a bit of a bargain. Will have a search now to see if planning has been applied before.
a bit more help with the tools to DIY - go to https://www.gov.uk/appeal-planning-inspectorate and search for appeals in that area, you should find something which tells you what the situation is with the 5YHLS (and therefore whether paragraph 49 of NPPF applies).
Just why I'm asking as £20,000 seems a bit of a bargain.
And I doubt the seller of the land is being charitable...
Good luck.
We've been waiting 14 years to get planning on our 'spectualive ' buying of land to build a house on.
Some get lucky; some have a councillor living in the village that doesn't want any more housing...
Are you buying a plot along with other people buying plots?
£20000 seems very cheap.
Gov.uk site temporarily down, will have a look again later on.
Quick look on the Dudley website and it appears that permission has never been applied for to build on that plot.
Interestingly I have also found this, one of the plots just down the road
http://www.completepropertyservices.co.uk/Portfolio/Property/Residential/195
20k isn't cheap for a bit of land that size. I think arable land is about 10k per acre ish.
Considering its totally speculative o reckon they are taking the piss considering how long it might be to get planning
You don't get owt for nowt. And I'm sure the seller isn't selling below the market rate.
And the corporate livery on that car is awful....
Curious one.....
Whatever the current planning position the vendor looks to have held back enough land to form a 5.5m road with footpaths each side to serve a future development on the retained land behind, so must have aspirations to develop behind in the future.....
As it is the plot isn't particularly big, plus there seem to be an issue with a change in levels. Highways are also likely to be resistant to having 16 plots worth of cars reversing back onto that existing road.
The vendor might be thinking 16 applications would be harder to resist than a single one, and would then form a precedent for his development behind (As well as giving him a bit of revenue), otherwise it just seems like a method of extracting as much cash out of a swathe of land as possible.
Also check the local plan as this should show if the land is included in possible future planning AND check with an expert, planning is tricky! Would think a plot with any chance of planning would be a lot more £
It's a land banking scheme 'investment opportunity', more commonly known as a scam...
http://www.selfbuildportal.org.uk/land-banking-scheme-scams
.
However if you are serious about a self build...
If you don't know about planning laws/policies, I would strongly suggest buying a plot which already has planning approval - and even then, make sure you know what the planning conditions are as overcoming certain issues can be very costly - like proximity of services, access issues, attenuation, etc.
And that's before looking at the site specifics like ground conditions/stability, etc.
"Subject to obtaining necessary planning permission this land has potential to build a 4-5 bedroom house"
Also could read this land has the potential to make you rich subject to you discovering Aladdins cave on the site...
If there was a high chance of planning permission the plots would be off to a developer rather than to individual people. Or the owner would build and sell along the row.
Also worth checking if its green belt...
I'd check for you, but firefox wont let me any more 🙁
Although there is big talk of building on green belt, I'd not take the risk. In fact in general, regarding this plot, I'd not take the risk.
Before I get myself onto the property ladder and after watching numerous self build home TV shows,
Planning issues aside..... watch all those programs again - notice how they've all sold houses to fund their build? Financing self builds is pretty tricky - if you buy a house the bank will lend based on the value of that house. A bank can't reposes a house you haven't built yet so they won't lend you the money until you've built it
Self build aren't really a strategy for young enthusiastic first time buyers - they're for mortgage-free empty nesters who've just had their savings boosted by the death of their parents.
From everything I've read so far it seems to make more sense to buy a plot with permission already granted, a lot less stress. I have a feeling that this is a bit of a scam or no chance to gain planning permission. I know the area pretty well and it's a very nice area.
Back to the drawing board... Thanks for the replies!!
"[i]...a plot with permission already granted, a lot less stress.[/i]"
Or at the very least, one with an existing dwelling, so that there's established use.
A couple of years ago one of my wife's friends bought huge plot with a tiny bungalow on it, with plans to flatten & build themselves a massive new house. They reckoned they'd be in in a year. I chuckled. They're still trying to get planning through now over two years later, while living in the tiny bungalow. They'll get there eventually I'm sure but it's not something I'd want to try.
[img] http://imgur.com/a/4eWpe [/img]
No chance of planning unless Dudley revise the Green Belt in the near future (doubt they will).
A bank can't reposes a house you haven't built yet so they won't lend you the money until you've built it
Not strictly true. You have to finance parts of the build and then draw down on each completed section. The land initially should have some value so "in theory" this could play as your deposit.
It was also advertised back in December 2015. I'd be amazed if they grant planning on that especially as the intention is to develop the back of it as well (hence the road). Unless the intention is to have the houses backing onto the main road? Councils don't like that.
If they allow those then they'd find it very difficult to stop the rest of the field being built on which would then almost join Pedmore up with Hagley - urban sprawl.
I'll try again;
[img] 
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Its in the Greenbelt - no chance of planning unless Dudley revise the Green Belt in the near future (doubt they will).
Seems to me that the landowners are chancing their arm and advertising via an agent to see if they have sell to unwitting purchasers.
Lets hope they revise the greenbelt! Suppose if they are planning on building behind the plot then if we did manage to gain planning permission then it would probably lose a lot of value with an estate directly behind it.
From everything I've read so far it seems to make more sense to buy a plot with [s]permission already granted[/s] [b]a house already on it[/b], a lot less stress
and even then it can be fairly stressful.
[quote=bavariangaz ]Lets hope they revise the greenbelt!
Let's hope they don't (and despite pressure coming from central government there's certainly still a lot of resistance to doing so - maintaining a gap between settlements is also a valid planning reason for refusal which has stood up at appeal despite NPPF para 49). It wouldn't help you in any case unless you're prepared to take a massive gamble* - as soon as there was a realistic chance of planning permission you'll find the prices of those plots going up accordingly.
* don't take a massive gamble - mike399 had it up there, it looks an awful lot like a scam. Numerous reasons why you wouldn't get planning permission there, whatever the state of the local plan. As already mentioned briefly, highways departments don't like building directly onto through roads, and objections like that also hold up at appeal.
I hope they don't... Just thinking a bit selfishly!
We won't take the gamble, thought it a little too good to be true initially; just hoping someone with a little more knowledge would see it as a huge potential
Greenbelt is precious, why would you want to build on it?
It prevents urban sprawl, flooding, protects trees, hedges, green spaces that we need for recreational purposes, it helps with mental well-being. Greenbelt is home to wild animals, wildflowers, birds and is there for a reason.
I work in Geotechnical enginering and live in Stourbridge.
Unless you are a Tory and cozy with the MP who can bully the planing dept that will not get planning permission or un-greenbelted any time soon.
For an idea of how much planning permission adds to the cost of land, this shitty little back garden in Wall Heath (just down the road for non locals) sold for £125,000
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/commercial-property-for-sale/property-65380304.html
This was on the radio recently on a property advice phone in. Was someone asking the opposite about the value of some land they wanted to sell, but same advice. It's worth only what you can get planning permission for. If it's selling for a peanuts, then it's worth exactly that.
You could take the gamble of course, but that's a £20k gamble and you might be stuck with it.
And yeah, if it's green belt, then you need to be a local councillor or MP. They're keen to approve building on green belt if they can to meet housing targets, but only if they can make money from it themselves. Probably given they need to do a few bribes.