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Wanted in Cambridge

Development land wanted in Cambridge

Own land in Cambridge that could take new homes? We buy directly, with or without planning.

As the county town of Cambridgeshire, Cambridge anchors the area we cover here, along with Royston, St Ives and Newmarket. We are based in Great Barr, Birmingham, around 89 miles from Cambridge, and we travel to see sites across England and Wales.

Cambridgeshire combines the fast-growing Cambridge area and Peterborough with Fenland market towns such as Wisbech, March and Ely and the towns of St Neots, Huntingdon and St Ives. A Green Belt surrounds Cambridge, while much of the north lies in the low-lying Fens, where flood zone status is often the deciding factor. Typical sites include edge-of-village land, former agricultural yards and larger strategic land promoted for new communities.

Where an English council cannot show a five-year supply of housing land, or its Housing Delivery Test result falls below 75%, the August 2026 NPPF can give policy support to suitable housing outside settlement boundaries.

Parts of Cambridgeshire are Green Belt, though not every town has any nearby. We check early whether a site is inside it and, if so, whether a grey belt or previously developed land case could apply.

Land we want in Cambridge

Edge-of-town meadow with timber survey stakes and orange marker pegs, houses along the far boundary

Residential development land

Around Cambridge, the residential land that tends to work is close to existing homes, shops and transport rather than out on its own.

Vacant fenced development plot with a council planning notice tied to a lamp post and terraced houses beyond

Land with planning permission

We are interested in sites with planning across the Cambridge area, including smaller consents that larger housebuilders may pass over.

Gently sloping green field next to an English village with a church tower behind a hawthorn hedge

Land without planning permission

Plenty of land around Cambridge has never had permission. What we look for first is whether new homes would fit with the existing pattern of the place.

Cleared former industrial yard with cracked concrete, a palisade fence and an old brick warehouse wall

Brownfield land

In Cambridge, the brownfield sites we look at are often tucked behind main roads or alongside older housing, close to services.

Overgrown empty plot between two Edwardian semi-detached houses on a suburban street

Infill plots

Around Cambridge, infill plots are often side gardens or gaps left between older houses; the street's character usually sets the design.

Long rear gardens behind 1930s semi-detached houses with a gravel access lane along the bottom

Garden and backland plots

Around Cambridge, garden land is most promising where a lane already runs behind the houses or two or three neighbours can sell together.

Horse paddock with post-and-rail fencing and a field gate on the edge of a village at evening

Farmland and paddocks

Fields that wrap around the edges of Cambridge and its neighbouring villages are the farmland we most want to talk about.

High aerial view of large farmland fields beside a market town, a ring road and a river lined with willows

Strategic land

Around Cambridge, strategic sites tend to be the big fields between the built edge and the main roads, where a whole new neighbourhood could be planned.

Corner plot of rough grass at a suburban road junction with houses along both roads

Small sites

Small sites in and around Cambridge are central to what we look for, from corner plots to the odd field on the edge of a nearby village.

Vacant single-storey industrial units with grey roller shutters and an empty tarmac forecourt

Commercial and industrial sites

In Cambridge, industrial land that has drifted out of use can often be reimagined as homes, subject to the council's view on employment land.

Disused two-storey 1960s brick office building with an empty weed-cracked car park among houses

Redundant buildings

Across Cambridge, empty offices, shops and former pubs can find a new life as homes when the building and the planning position line up.

Traditional red-brick barn with clay tile roof beside a modern steel portal-frame barn on a farmyard

Barns and rural buildings

We look at barns and rural yards around Cambridge and give a straight view on whether conversion or replacement is realistic.

Row of lock-up garages with faded up-and-over doors around a tarmac court behind 1960s houses

Garage courts and yards

Across Cambridge, lock-up blocks that are half empty can be a better use of land as homes, with parking handled sensibly.

Overgrown fenced plot with brambles and saplings behind a weathered hoarding between houses

Sites with lapsed or refused planning

Sites around Cambridge with an old refusal can be worth a second look, especially where local or national policy has since changed.

Desk with a printed local plan proposals map showing coloured site boundaries and a housing layout sketch

Allocated and promoted land

We are interested in land around Cambridge at any plan stage, from a first submission to an adopted allocation.

Ways to sell development land in Cambridge

01

Outright purchase

We agree a price and buy the land, with no planning condition attached.

Outright purchase

02

Subject-to-planning contract

We agree a price now and complete once a satisfactory planning permission is granted.

Subject-to-planning contract

03

Option agreement

You grant us the right to buy within a set period, usually for an option premium, while we pursue planning.

Option agreement

04

Joint venture

You contribute the land, we fund and manage planning and delivery, and the proceeds are shared as agreed.

How a sale to us works

Send the basics
A postcode or plan and a few lines about the land are enough to start.
We do the homework
We check planning history, policy, flood maps and access at no cost to you.
We explain the options
You get a written proposal covering price, structure and timing.
Agree and proceed
Once you are happy, solicitors are instructed and the deal moves forward.

Your questions answered

Do you buy development land in Cambridge?

Yes. We buy development land in Cambridge and throughout Cambridgeshire, as well as elsewhere in England and Wales. Tell us where the land is and we will give you a free appraisal.

Which planning rules apply to land in Cambridge?

As Cambridge is in England, national policy comes from the National Planning Policy Framework, revised in August 2026. Local policies in the council's development plan also apply.

Do I need to pay anything to have land in Cambridge assessed?

No. Our appraisal is free and there is no obligation to sell to us.

Which areas do you cover?

All of England and Wales. We are based in Great Barr, Birmingham, and travel to see sites wherever they are.

Got land that could take new homes?

Free, no-obligation site appraisal. We buy directly, with or without planning.

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