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Wanted in Brighton

Development land wanted in Brighton

We are looking for development land in and around Brighton: plots, fields, brownfield sites and buildings.

Brighton is in East Sussex, about 7 miles south-west of Lewes. Nearby places include Hove, Shoreham-by-Sea and Peacehaven. Though we are based in Birmingham (roughly 141 miles away), distance is no barrier: we look at land across England and Wales.

Brighton and Hove has very limited land between the Downs and the sea, so redevelopment of commercial buildings, garages and yards is common there. Inland, the A22 and A26 towns and High Weald villages see smaller schemes, where ancient woodland and the historic field pattern are frequent considerations.

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.

East Sussex has no designated Green Belt, so the main policy questions near Brighton are usually the settlement boundary, landscape and access.

Land we want in Brighton

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

Residential development land

In and around Brighton we are interested in land that sits naturally alongside existing streets, where new homes would read as part of the place.

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 Brighton 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

Near Brighton, land without planning is worth discussing where it adjoins existing homes or has been put forward to the council's plan.

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

Brownfield land

Brownfield land in Brighton 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 Brighton, 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

Backland development in Brighton turns on access and privacy; we look at both before suggesting whether an application is worth making.

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 Brighton 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

Around Brighton, 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 Brighton 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

Older business land around Brighton, especially units now surrounded by housing, is the kind of commercial site we would like to discuss.

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

Redundant buildings

Across Brighton, 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

In the countryside around Brighton, redundant barns and yards can sometimes become homes, depending on the building and the route available.

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

Garage courts and yards

We are looking for garage blocks and small yards around Brighton, whether they are fully let, partly let or empty.

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 Brighton 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 Brighton appears in the council's plan or its site assessments, send us the reference; it changes the conversation.

Choosing how to sell

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.

From first call to completion

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 East Sussex

Is Brighton too far from our Birmingham base?

No. We are based in Great Barr, Birmingham, about 141 miles from Brighton, and we look at land right across England and Wales.

Can an agent introduce land in Brighton to you?

Yes. Estate agents, land agents and planning consultants can introduce sites with the owner's consent. Any fee is agreed in writing before details are shared, confirmed by the owner in writing and paid only on completion.

How quickly can you look at a site in Brighton?

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.

What kind of land do you buy?

Land that could take new homes: fields and paddocks next to settlements, brownfield sites, infill and garden plots, garage courts, redundant buildings, barns, land with planning and larger strategic sites. We buy in England and Wales.

Got land that could take new homes?

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

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