To sell our land for millions...

[Rosebyanothername19]

Long story short, we baught a house and some land along with it as we had got wind that they might be planning to build houses on it and other surrounding land and we didn't want other houses directly around ours.

We were then told by the local council that there was no chance as it had been rebuffed a number of times and wasn't going to happen. So felt a bit like we had wasted our money.

A few months later we find out that our land is the only land in the area that has been put forward for planning permission, so is potentially worth millions if sold for housing. But also a relief that we baught it so it can't get built on without our consent.

We could sell the land and the house and buy something else. In a way, we have possibly won the lottery. But we love the house and the whole reason for buying the land was so there wasn't houses on it!

So wwyd?

AIBU?

YES: Don't sell the land
NO: Sell the land and the house and buy something else.

I'd sell and I'd be very happy to.

Well this has probably touched a nerve with me because as soon as a new estate of boxy wonders was built at the top of the village I live in, the other end of the village has flooded every year since. It's been established that it's directly linked and, yet again, people have had to deal with this shit for the last 5 years. The elderly couple who have lived in their house for 50 years were flooded on Christmas Day and had to move out. It's shit.

The people who sold the land buggered off without a care about what they've left behind. They made a lot of money so that was more important to them.

Crikey, if it really was millions, I'd sell and buy another house and my family would enjoy the added comfort and benefits the extra money would bring. You could also model a new house to your exact specifications.
On the query about PP - our buyers of our last property applied for PP and them proceeding was conditional on whether they got it.

It goes a bit like this, every 20 years or so the local planning authority creates a new local development plan.

Tell that to my council who have numerous projects going on currently, numerous more in the pipeline and that's in almost every town that surrounds the nearby city, the city is also included in multiple development plans. That can't have been the next development plan, they haven't stopped building for about 10 years.

And yet they have zero plans for more schools (or even better ones since most are crap and are in horrible old buildings), no plans for more shops other than increasing rent so every current shop goes out of business, no extra police, no extra hospitals or GPs, nothing. Just tons of new houses that are overpriced. Oh and nothing new planned for the roads which weren't great to begin with.

I think you will find a lot of people that say no, think of the environment and pressure on villages etc with more housing.

However I think you will also find that most of these people, if they were in your position, would take the money.

As @maddening says. I've only ever lived in villages, you would have to be prepared to move away should you sell. Even discussions on development in rural communities become very heated.

To be honest though...for financial security for my family I would do it.

@Dawnlassie

So somebody has applied for planning permission for houses on land they dont own?

Are you sure you have this right op?

That is perfectly legal and not unusual for a developer. Or do you mean it has been put forward as part of a Local Plan.

Just don't do anything without getting proper legal and valuation advice. Developers will see you coming.

@CakeRequired

It goes a bit like this, every 20 years or so the local planning authority creates a new local development plan.

Tell that to my council who have numerous projects going on currently, numerous more in the pipeline and that's in almost every town that surrounds the nearby city, the city is also included in multiple development plans. That can't have been the next development plan, they haven't stopped building for about 10 years.

And yet they have zero plans for more schools (or even better ones since most are crap and are in horrible old buildings), no plans for more shops other than increasing rent so every current shop goes out of business, no extra police, no extra hospitals or GPs, nothing. Just tons of new houses that are overpriced. Oh and nothing new planned for the roads which weren't great to begin with.

There's a legal obligation to review a local plan every 5 years. This will include allocating more land, or consulting on land which might be allocated. There'll also be the planning permission for the sites themselves, plus any not allocated, and neighbourhood plans will allocate sites for parishes on top of this.

Councils have to look at infrastructure impacts of development and how to mitigate it. These days this is rarely a new school or GP unless the development is large enough to generate thr need for its own facility. Developers instead pay cash to local authorities as Community Infeastructure Levy or Section 106 agreements towards improvements to existing facilities (ie the expansion of a school or GP surgery, library, etc). The health service is moving away from local, village surgeries and towards Primary Care Networks to allow GPs to share resources between them, usually with a "super surgery".

For a time of a developer overpaid for land they could argue they couldn't make contributions because it would impact thr financial viability of the development - new planning policy means if a developer had overpaid they should take the hit though it can mean sites don't get built

@nicebreeze I don’t have a problem with development, OVER development I do. The area I am in currently is overdeveloped. It’s taken many years to get to this point, so I’ll take my chances elsewhere

I would sell

With respect, you have your head in the clouds. Removing BTL just means a reduction in the numbers of rental properties, unless you plan to give those renters the means to buy their own homes too? And some people choose to rent, of course.

Plenty of people want to buy, and would be in a position to buy. One of the reasons prices are artificially high some areas is because the supply to BUY outstrips demand, so the properties that are available cost more, if the multiple properties were popped back into the pot, there would be a reduction as there isn't such a stretch on the available stock, and a lot would be more suitable for families. Of course some people want to rent and it's not all landlords are bad, of course they aren't, but they have a negative effect in some areas on house prices. Same for the 10% HA properties in new builds, doesn't touch the surface. Yes we need more homes, build away. But without some measures in place it's just more of the same shit. Plenty of empty homes here that were built to be 'luxury' in an area that doesn't need them. If they had been made apartments or smaller homes without the bullshit added they would have sold like hot cakes. There are plenty of empty properties across the countries that should be invested in and the surrounding communities to make them safe and acceptable places to live before just keep building new ones.

You sound passive regards planning. Can you afford to develop it? Then you could make profit and be in control of the property situation?

It sounds as though the Council are in the early stages of writing a new local plan and are hoping to designate your land as a potential housing site. Whilst in the long run, this could lead to a planning application being granted, it is unlikely to have done much to change the value of your land at this stage.

Depending on how far the Council have progressed, it could take years before the new Local Plan is adopted. And even longer for a planning application to be approved.

You need to speak to the planning policy department at the Council who will be able to explain the process and time scale to you.

I wouldn't be selling anything yet.

I know a family that sold 10 acres in a london commuter town, they are millionaires now!

We have this in our village. 3 farms have been approached. 2 have said sod off.
The other is considering the offer.

The proposal will be for more than 500 homes. In a village. We will then adjoin the next village. We will become a small town.

No additional bus service - we have 3 a day per covid Monday- Friday. No additional schools, GP. Oh & the area is regularly flooded.

They already know that they will have to move if they sell. Away from their family & friends. Their children will lose their friends. Is it worth it? I don’t think so.

This is the biggest threat to us, not COVID.

Greed, overdevelopment and overbuilding.

OP take the money out of the equation- what do you actually want to do?
How would you feel in a semi?
Listen to your gut feeling is my advice.

Surely if it did have planning permission the value of your own house would plummet?

This is an amazing problem to have!! Either you’re going to come into a lot of money, OR get to keep your house with plenty of land!
Can’t tell you what to to do but for me personally I’d get a few stables and an arena built on it and keep my horses there (providing it was at least 3+ acres?!)
I wonder if you could rent it out to someone with livestock if you don’t ‘use’ it but don’t want to sell it?

@GhostsInSnow

This is what dh does for a living. You need to speak to a land developer who may take it on dependent on land size. They usually work on a no win no fee basis. Points to consider are This:

People hate change. You will not e popular and groups will be set up against any development. Dh has been followed, harassed and had his car vandalised at public meetings in the past. These people can get loud, violent and deceitful claiming to find all sorts of rare creatures on your land.
Fortunately you don't need to attend any of this and your input will be minimal, paper signing and giving surveyors access to the land.

If you don't get planning you still have to live in the area so won't be popular.

Sites can take several years to come though and usually end up going to appeals. This won't affect you, no win no fee, but again you potentially have to live and work in the area whilst this is going on.

I'd do it personally. No shame in making money and if the council have identified it in the local plan then the housing is needed

Living in a village with several developments, yes they have all been opposed. All have gone through.

The landowners have had lots of opposition, but eventually people get over it. Most of us wouldn't be in the houses we're in if someone hadn't developed the land.

Obviously it does need to be limited, but a blanket No isn't the answer either.

Get professional advice and find out what the real situation is.

Housing is in massively short supply. Dont block people building just because you don't want close neighbours.

My partners family only land “worth millions” - but as you say in the OP, it has been rejected for planning (several times, despite it not really affecting anybody but that’s a whole other story) if you could secure planning permission on the land, that is when a buyer would consider it’s worth.

Housing is not in short supply, it’s our economy that depends on low paid high volume workers who creates the need for that because we keep importing workers and their families, mostly for the construction industry and that then they end up building the housing needed for themselves while whole town in Eastern Europe are dying. Also, the greed of developers and the overseas investment marketing.

It only makes developers rich and we end concreting over everywhere.