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Wanted in Lewes

Development land wanted in Lewes

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

As the county town of East Sussex, Lewes anchors the area we cover here, along with Peacehaven, Brighton and Uckfield. We are based in Great Barr, Birmingham, around 142 miles from Lewes, and we travel to see sites across England and Wales.

East Sussex runs from Brighton and Hove along the coast to Eastbourne, Bexhill and Hastings, with inland towns such as Lewes, Uckfield, Hailsham and Crowborough. There is no Green Belt, but the South Downs National Park and the High Weald National Landscape cover a large share of the county, squeezing development between protected countryside and the sea. Typical sites are small edge-of-town fields, infill plots, garden land and urban brownfield sites.

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.

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

Land we want in Lewes

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

Residential development land

Sites on the edge of Lewes or the villages nearby can be worth a conversation, especially where they are well connected by road and bus or rail.

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 Lewes 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 Lewes, 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 Lewes 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

We look for infill plots across Lewes and the surrounding villages, particularly where there is room for parking off the road.

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

Garden and backland plots

In parts of Lewes with long gardens or rear lanes, backland plots can work well if the access is wide enough and neighbours are treated fairly.

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 Lewes 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

If you own a substantial holding near Lewes, the council's plan timetable will shape when and how it could be promoted.

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

Small sites

Small sites in and around Lewes 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

We look at yards and units across Lewes 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 Lewes 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

In the countryside around Lewes, 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

Garage courts tucked behind homes in Lewes are often ideal for a small number of new houses or bungalows.

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 Lewes 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 Lewes 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.

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.

Questions owners in Lewes ask

Do you buy development land in Lewes?

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

Can an agent introduce land in Lewes 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.

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

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

Is there a minimum or maximum site size?

No. We look at single building plots through to land for 50 or more homes.

Got land that could take new homes?

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

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