Buying land (UK) – where do I start?
Our dream is to buy land, build our own eco-friendly home, plant fruit and veg gardens and keep some animals, and also run a (eco-friendly) campsite.
What sort of land should I be looking for? All plots I’ve seen online seem to be allocated ‘Grazing’, ‘Equestrian’, ‘Agricultural’ etc. or else already have planning permission for something I don’t want to build. What do these categories mean? Will I be able to get planning permission to build on land in these categories? Should I avoid greenbelt land? I really don’t know what I’m looking for.
I know I could go ask an estate agent, but we’re not really ready to buy yet – just looking at what’s available.
Thanks in advance.
If you buy a piece of land which is not already designated for housing, you run the risk of your change of use application being turned down, especially if it is in a protected area. In the greenbelt you are going to have awful trouble getting change of use permission.
Buying a piece of land which has planning permission for habitation is more expensive than buying land which is designated for housing WITHOUT planning permission, as somebody has already taken the trouble to go through the planning application process. However, there is no reason that you can’t reapply for a new project on that land, you don’t have to use the plan that you buy…the problem being, you have no idea whether the local authority will allow your new plan.
You should research the local area and its planning history, look at what newbuilds and restorations have been permitted in the last decade or so, and you should definitely take into account the housing or other buildings in the immediate area around the plot you intend to buy.
An option would be to buy land which already has a dwelling in place, then apply for demolition and a replacement building. This has the major cost-saving advantage of all the services (electric, etc) being already in place, and you don’t have to worry about change of use. You have to pick the building that you wish to demolish carefully though, as many councils will not allow you to build anything which has a larger floor area or will create more traffic than the original building.
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