Whatever the scale, understanding and pursuing development potential can be rewarding — whether it’s a business proposition or more to do with a sense of achievement, personalising your space or adding value to your home.

Many of the development opportunities that we advise on fall into the latter camp. They haven’t really been considered opportunities at all until a chance conversation or seeing the neighbours do something with their property sparked an idea.

If you’re keen to explore these possibilities then there are some basic things to consider, the first of which is: is it worth it? Changing what you already have may seem a great idea but the existing value can often be greater than the alternative, so it’s important to do the numbers.

Then there’s the question of permission. It’s more than likely you will need planning consent for larger projects. Although some development is permitted under Permitted Development Rights, in some cases these have been removed and you may not even be able to put up a garden fence. On the other hand, you might find that planning rules allow you to embark on a completely different project to the one you’d originally intended.

If you are thinking on an altogether bigger scale and you have surplus land or a large garden adjoining an existing settlement, then there may be potential for a more ambitious scheme of some new build residential properties, or in a town centre location a mixed-use scheme, for example. Here timing, risk and delivery are key considerations.  Such development takes time and more than you might think. The decisions you make today can sometimes take five to 10 years to come to fruition.

For larger strategic undertakings, typically the way forward is a combination of finding the right development partner to work with, entering into an agreement that maximises value and reduces risk (see Risk and reward: mechanisms to realise the potential of strategic land), and engaging with the local planning authority via plan promotion.

Property is complex, so whatever your project might be, it pays to seek advice to evaluate the potential, identify the risk and help realise the plan.

Further information

Contact Ian Fowler and Tom Spencer

Contact Savills Development