Although farmland continues its upwards trajectory in value, currently there's no better profit generator for a farm than selling your land for development. With a well known shortage of new homes being built in the UK, the housing gap means opportunities for farmers where they own land in suitable locations.

Here, Tim Lawrence, a Development Director at Savills in Birmingham, offer his tips on how to approach this often complicated process.

Local Plans, targets and housing strategy
"It's worth finding out if you're in an area that's in need of more housing. Has the local council already put forward its site allocations for housing? What are its targets for housing, is there a consultation period that you may be able to add your site into? Most of this is now available on council websites but planning professionals and specialist development land agents can help advise on this."

Know your SSSI's from your NPPFs
"Jargon it may be, yet policy forms a major part of any potential of a site for development. The more you understand the factors at play for the decision makers - local councils, local planning authorities and developers, the better chance you'll have of gaining planning permission and selling the land at its development value. So do as much as you can about the new planning policy guidance, the National Planning Policy Framework."

Think like your customer
"You need to put yourself into the shoes of a development land agent or a developer. It's their job to promote the land to potential buyers - be they house builders, commercial developers or homeowners. For example is your land's location close to amenities, main roads and railways? If the land is for an energy scheme, is it close to the national grid? Does the land flood? If the land is for residential development? If so are there enough local schools, shops and employers?"

Tim continues: "If you can pre-empt questions around these issues and put forward a site that ticks the boxes, you'll stand more of a chance of gaining that sought after planning permission or achieving a site allocation into the local development framework, which forms the basis of planning locally. Alternatively if you just want to sell the site without permission, the more information you can give to the agent around these factors, the better."

All about drainage
"You may already have a good steer on this if your farmland is drained. Developers need to conduct in depth drainage appraisals to satisfy requirements for the planning process, so the more information you can collate and give, the easier it will be to smooth the process along."

What about wildlife?
"Any development in the UK needs to look at impact upon wildlife. So if your grand plan for an industrial shed development is right next to a Site of Special Scientific interest, you may need to think again. However there are some things you can do which make it a more straightforward process and to ensure a more minimal impact. Ensuring wildlife appraisals are done in spring for example, can give a more accurate result than one conducted in the depths of winter when wildlife may have migrated."

Be prepared with detail
"Reports on planning feasibility, drainage, build costs and any potential wildlife issues can remove the unknown factors from a land sale. This in turn gives the house builder a 'ready to go' package. We find that this extra work and information may cost in the short term, however it does usually ensure a faster sale and can add to the price achieved per acre."

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