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Wanted in St Ives

Development land wanted in St Ives

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

St Ives is in Cambridgeshire, about 12 miles north-west of Cambridge. Nearby places include Huntingdon, St Neots and Cambridge. Though we are based in Birmingham (roughly 79 miles away), distance is no barrier: we look at land across England and Wales.

Water supply and wastewater capacity have been recurring issues for growth around Cambridge, and Fenland sites usually need careful flood risk evidence. Away from the city, small sites on the edges of villages and market towns along the A14, A10 and A1 corridors are a common source of new housing land.

In England, the revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 17 August 2026 replaced the old "tilted balance" with new settlement policies: development within a settlement should normally be approved unless the harm substantially outweighs the benefits, while land outside a settlement can gain support in defined circumstances.

Some land in Cambridgeshire is designated Green Belt. If your land is within it, it may still qualify as grey belt or previously developed land under national policy, subject to the Golden Rules.

Land we want in St Ives

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

Residential development land

Around St Ives, 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 St Ives 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 St Ives 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

Brownfield land in St Ives tends to be well located for homes; the questions are usually about contamination, demolition and neighbours.

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

Infill plots

Around St Ives, 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 St Ives, 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

We are looking for farmland near St Ives with a realistic access, ideally land the owner has already put forward to the local plan.

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

Strategic land

Larger landholdings on the approaches to St Ives are where strategic land usually comes from, particularly near transport links.

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

Small sites

We want to hear about plots for a few homes anywhere around St Ives, including ones a larger builder has already turned down.

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

Commercial and industrial sites

We look at yards and units across St Ives where the business use has run its course or the site sits awkwardly among houses.

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

Redundant buildings

Redundant buildings in St Ives often sit in the heart of things, close to shops and transport, which can make them strong residential sites.

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 St Ives 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 St Ives, 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

We read the planning history of sites across St Ives closely; a past refusal often points straight to the fix.

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

Allocated and promoted land

If your land near St Ives appears in the council's plan or its site assessments, send us the reference; it changes the conversation.

Four ways to sell to us

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

Get in touch
Tell us where the land is and what you know about it.
Site review
We look at the land, its planning position and anything that could affect it.
Proposal
We put our proposal in writing, with no obligation to accept.
Exchange and completion
If you go ahead, contracts are exchanged and the sale completes on the agreed terms.

Frequently asked in Cambridgeshire

How quickly can you look at a site in St Ives?

For most sites we can give an initial view once we have the location and a plan. Detailed checks follow if the land looks suitable.

Which planning rules apply to land in St Ives?

As St Ives 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 St Ives assessed?

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

Do you buy land in Wales?

Yes. We buy across Wales, taking account of Planning Policy Wales, Local Development Plans, flood risk under TAN 15 and, where relevant, phosphate issues in river catchments.

Got land that could take new homes?

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

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