Land with restrictive covenant and contaminated

[Confuseddotcom12345]

Ok so we’ve seen a plot we’re interested in purchasing but it’s really a gamble. We’d like to build a dwelling eventually in the next 10 years or 15 years or so.

Area of outstanding natural beauty, maybe conservation area, restrictive covenant to only use for camping, land contaminated with asbestos, some old dilapidated buildings may house bats or barn owls etc, telephone or electricity wire fully overhangs/overcuts the plot.

AIBU to think we could buy this land and then tackle each challenge one by one over the years (ie legal process to remove covenant, process to remove and rectify contamination, eventually build sympathetic low key property in keeping with hamlet aesthetic in local stone after a few years of carrying out all the legal and other changes/ remedies?

Call me crazy. I’m new to all this!

Is it agricultural land then? If so you have to prove a need to live on the site for an agricultural business (the business has to make a decent profit too usually, you can’t sell a few eggs out the front and call it a business). It’s very hard to do in most local authorities. It would be a massive gamble and very costly with no guarantee you will ever be allowed to build on it.

Thank you for your reply. There is a field as part of the land that we would want to keep wild (it’s currently a grassy meadow). The part we would wish to build on is an old farmers yard/clamp with an asbestos cement barn like thing and a granite garage. So the field is agricultural I don’t know if the clamp/dilapidated buildings are but they used to be part of the farm.

But not yet residential use? The planning laws are changing but I think to change from agricultural or industrial use to residential may still be a stretch . Protected species need monitoring and any surveys renewing over time before work can begin.

You can't just 'tackle' a restricitive covenant. It is on the title, you need to approach the beneficiary of the covenant and see if they are willing to release you. They don't have to act reasonably they can just say no. And most likely will ask for compensation if they are willing to go ahead.

You can approach the beneficiary before purchase of course

If it’s part of a farm it sounds like the land would be agricultural. But that would be the 1st thing to find out. If so it will be nigh on impossible to build a permanent home there under current planning law, unless you are planning to run an actual farm or some other kind of agricultural business. I don’t know about the proposed changes to planning but my understanding was land will be still be categorised. It seems harsh to the individual, because each person thinks their eco home/sympathetically designed stone cottage/barn style house would add to the landscape and make use of otherwise wasted land but I know at least 2 people who are trying to do this at the moment (they won’t achieve it but that’s another story). They can’t let everyone build a home wherever they like.

Thank you, perhaps that’s what I needed (a reality check). This all explains why the land is so cheap! (Of course I knew there would be a reason 😂)

No guarantees on your being able to make that covenant go anywhere as PP pointed out so you need to see if you can buy it out prior to contract.

Obviously you need to get quotes for decontamination and make sure you can afford it.

I’d also get expert input on the bats and owls prior to contract. Some species are extremely protected and you may be very constrained by that.

I’d only be moving forward if you are heart and soul sold on the place, it is going to be a lot of work and (likely, unless you are v financially comfortable and really pretty chill by nature) stress!

We bought a disused agricultural building and the national government policy at the time (2017) was to be encouraging increase of housing stock by allowing such buildings to become feelings so it qualified for 'prior approved planning permission' it is in the lake District but outside of national park borders (which is basically fast track planning approval (didn't even need detailed drawings). Had to meet various conditions (bat conservation, no water pollution sympathetic aesthetic etc etc) but then we were through, very straight forward really. So check that process out and see if this building meets the criteria. Or what the local policy is for turning disused agricultural buildings into dwellings.
For the asbestos contamination, if it is asbestos concrete panels that's fairly straight forward most larger council tips accept them for disposal (correctly packaged - check their website for instructions). They don't even require specialist handling, so for example taking an asbestos sheet roof off an old shed can be done by you. If it is a large whole building you'll need contractors so you can dismantle it without breaking any (the asbestos risk comes with breakages). If the asbestos present is things like fluffy asbestos lagging you absolutely will need a professional licensed firm to deal with it, and deep pockets.
You will need a bat survey and if any are roosting in the building you wish to change you will have to have the professional licensed bat people sorry the bats out before you can touch it. If it is a couple of pipistrelles that shouldn't be too difficult (things like providing alternative roost boxes) but if you have a maternity colony of long eared bats that's another story.
I suggest you take each issue separately and hunt down the relevant local facts on each (this is what I did) and work out if you can afford the time/money each will require.
You will need deep pockets or a lot of dedication to do work yourself, but depending on your personal circumstances and planning policy could be worth it.

The covenant side subs like the greatest sticking point but I have no experience of that

All bat species are equally protected but different species have different mitigation strategies, some are easier than others.

Getting planning permission for a new build in an AONB is tricky. IME the neighbours will raise hell about it. I know a situation where pretty much no one (out of four or five sets of neighbours, which is all they've got) speaks to the household that pushed through planning permission for a new build on dubious grounds.

But in your situation a stone cottage might be much preferred to a collapsing barn. If you can get the covenant sorted, go and chat to anyone who lives nearby.

Thanks so much for all your invaluable insight. I wonder if the vendors are hoping for some sort of equestrian plan instead if new build is (understandably) so contentious. The land is up for auction.

We’d not be stressed about it because the new build would be a long term aim (years in the future) and it would be a labour of love I suppose. But yes there is a lot to think through and there are a lot of question marks. A lot to mull over

How much are you looking at to pay for the land? Approx?

Agree with the advice above but is also suggest you might not be able to take one issue at a time as some interact, for example bats in a building that has asbestos. So you might need to budget to carry out some large pieces of work as one. That and mitigation for bats can sometimes include building a new roost in advanced so you'd have to plan it through.

If the covenant was easy to remove they would likely have removed it already to increase the price they're expecting at auction. I think it's a big risk. But land doesn't really lose value so you could perhaps buy, try it, sell it on if it doesn't work out.

You've got two hurdles, the covenant and planning permission. Too many risks it won't work out imo.

@KitchenWarrior - not if they've overpaid based on their hope to develop....

Taking your time sounds great, but you will be responsible for the land in that period, so factor in insurance, and having to deal with fly tipping and unauthorised access to the land.

The land is for auction at guide price 75-100k but I’m thinking who will want to buy it given all these hurdles? All I can think is it will be someone with so much money the risks don’t matter to them. Oh well it was a nice dream!

Our self build project was relatively straight forward compared to this, assist from land purchase the cost easily exceeds 100k for our build and that's doing ALL the work ourselves (nearly 4 years in and counting), so I reckon you'd need a minimum of 200k on top of land purchase and that's before you hire anyone. Great if you can afford it and get past the covenant.

Keep looking though, we were looking for 7 years before we found ours and came close to another one, which want viable for us, I cried when we had to let that opportunity pass us by... 1 year later a more perfect easier (for us) option came up and now I'm living in a cabin on a building site.

How many acres and what would you be using the land for?

It’s just under one acre. The meadow we’d be happy to keep wild (as is) or grow orchard. It’s the location we’re interested in not any money making. The small farmer yard/old dilapidated shed bit we’d hope to build a small home for us on eventually

Check out the covenant situation as first priority, that's your greatest obstacle

@Confuseddotcom12345

The land is for auction at guide price 75-100k but I’m thinking who will want to buy it given all these hurdles? All I can think is it will be someone with so much money the risks don’t matter to them. Oh well it was a nice dream!

Fuuuck that's expensive. An acre isn't a lot for horses, either. Parcels of agricultural land usually go for +/- 10k an acre, depending on where you are. Much more if it comes with a house though - that seems to up the value by a factor of 2 to 5 depending.

I'd still chat to the neighbours, check out the covenant and go to the auction, though. Is there a reserve on the land price?

The reserve is between the 75-100k figure apparently. It’s in an area of ridiculously high demand since COVID so they must be trying to cash in.