Case Studies
Land Success Stories From Across the UK
Our Success studies
Every piece of land is unique — and so is every client we work with. At Arcadian Estates, we take pride in helping landowners achieve the highest possible value for their land, while making the process smooth, clear and reassuring.
Below are just a few of the many successful land sales we’ve brokered across the UK. Each story reflects our honest, independent approach and our ability to connect landowners with the right buyers — at the right time.
Greenfield land promotion for market housing
In March 2012, the Government set out the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which was a guide to England’s regional planning policies. The key policy change that this created, was that Local Authorities were now obliged to prove a five-year supply of housing land at a level allocated to them by central government. The upshot of this was, that unless a Council could demonstrate a five-year housing supply, then any proposed housing development in a sustainable location, which was adjacent to a settlement should be granted planning permission.
Arcadian Estates had an existing relationship with the landowner of a piece of land which was adjacent to a large village of circa 3000 population.
Following the change in policy, Arcadian Estates contacted the landowner to ascertain whether he would be interested in selling land for residential development. Arcadian Estates then represented the landowner, and negotiated a planning promotion agreement with a national land promoter. The land promoter submitted a planning application for 120 homes, which was refused by the local council. This decision was appealed by the land promoter, and after an exhaustive public enquiry lasting seven days, the government Inspector allowed the Appeal. The land promoter then packaged the land for sale with a comprehensive technical portfolio, and marketed the site by competitive tender to the housebuilding industry. The land was sold to a regional housebuilder.
Whilst the landowner paid a share of the land sale to the land promoter, as agreed in the planning promotion agreement, the final yield was significantly higher than would have been achieved if he had worked directly with a housebuilder. The landowner was involved in decisions throughout, and retained control over his site.
Sale Format: Planning promotion
Number of Houses: 120
Timespan: 4 years
Purchaser: Stewart Milne Homes
Brownfield urban housing site
Arcadian Estates was contacted in 2006 by the owner of a five acre factory site in an urban area. He had already instructed an estate agent to sell the site for housing, but the estate agent had failed to progress any prospects. The site was in a marketable area, with no significant planning permission hurdles as it was derelict, but it did have suspected ground contamination problems. Working with the estate agent, Arcadian Estates identified a national housebuilder who had good experience in remediating sites of this nature, and negotiated a sale on a subject to planning permission basis. The sale completed the following year, with the benefit of a detailed planning consent for 59 homes, and an approved remediation strategy for the ground contamination. Since the landowner was already committed to pay fees to his estate agent, the purchaser covered Arcadian Estates’ costs. This case study illustrates how specialist knowledge is required to sell housing sites. Estate agents and traditional land agents simply do not have the detailed experience or contacts to perform well for landowners disposing of viable building land.
Sale Format: Conditional contract
Number of Houses: 59
Timespan: 10 months
Purchaser: Westbury Homes
Green Belt land promotion for market housing
Arcadian Estates has represented the landowners of a 20 acre edge of town site since 2000. Whilst the land was located within a greenbelt area, it appeared ideal for housing, and made a logical urban extension, with the High Street only a few hundred meters away. Arcadian Estates negotiated an Option Agreement with a national housebuilding company in 2001. Following the Rogers Report, Planning Policy Guidance 3 (PPG3) was introduced, which steered councils away from using spacious greenfield sites for housing, and encouraged them to used high density brownfield sites in preference. The timing was not right for us, and the Option Agreement subsequently expired after 10 years.
When the current National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was published in 2012, it looked like there was a new window of opportunity, as the local authority did not have a five-year housing supply. Having watched several test cases at Appeal, it became clear that the lack of five-year supply arguments would not help greenbelt sites. We had to think again, and decided to promote the site through the local plan process, and hope that it would be released from greenbelt. After long negotiations with several different companies, Arcadian Estates helped the landowners enter into a Planning Promotion Agreement with a specialist land promoter in 2015. The site had questionable access, and the promoter purchased an existing dwelling to create a new access off an adopted estate road. Partly due to the merits of the site, and partly due to the careful political and planning negotiations by the promoter, the site has been included in the local council’s new Local Plan, and was released from greenbelt in July 2017. The now allocated housing site is undergoing an outline planning application for 250 houses, and is expected to be sold to the housebuilding industry in early 2018 by competitive tender.
Sale Format: Planning promotion
Number of Houses: 240
Timespan: 16 years
Purchaser: Anwyl Homes
Greenbelt 100% affordable housing project
Arcadian Estates was contacted by the new owner of a narrow strip of redundant land on the edge of a greenbelt village in 2011. The site lay between a canal and a main road, and would have been an ideal infill site for housing were it not located in the greenbelt. It was clear from local policy that there would be no chance of achieving a planning consent for market housing, and the size of the land (about 1.5 acres) did not warrant the cost of long term promotion through the local plan process with only a small chance of success of release from the greenbelt.
Arcadian Estates identified an exception to greenbelt policy, if houses are to be affordable, where the site is adjacent to the village boundary, and a local need can be identified for this type of housing. Arcadian Estates negotiated a conditional sale of the land (subject to gaining the required planning consents) with a construction company that specialised in building affordable homes. The construction company dealt with the planning, and entered into an agreement with a Housing Association to purchase and manage the completed units.
From introduction to the developer to the completed sale of the land to accommodate 13 affordable homes took only nine months. Whilst the yield from the land sale for affordable housing was much less than would have been achieved if market housing was possible, it was still over twenty times the agricultural value that the land was initially purchased for.
Sale Format: Option Agreement
Number of Houses: 13
Timespan: 9 months
Purchaser: Plus Dane Housing
Have Land With Potential? Let’s Talk.
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What Our Clients Say
We knew our land had value, but Arcadian helped us realise just how much. They handled every detail with care, discretion and clarity.
As a commercial landowner, I’ve worked with various agents — but none like Arcadian. Their advice was clear, honest and effective. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.