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Wanted in Bury

Development land wanted in Bury

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

Bury lies about 9 miles north of Manchester in Greater Manchester. We also cover Radcliffe, Heywood, Ramsbottom and the villages between them. Our base is in Great Barr, Birmingham, about 74 miles away, and we buy land throughout England and Wales.

Greater Manchester is a dense conurbation centred on Manchester and Salford, ringed by towns such as Bolton, Wigan, Oldham, Rochdale, Bury, Stockport and Altrincham. Green Belt separates many of these towns and covers the moorland fringe, so most housing land is previously developed: former mills, industrial estates, yards and town-centre sites. Grey belt and small edge-of-settlement fields can also come forward on the urban fringe.

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 Greater Manchester 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 Bury

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 Bury 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

For consented land around Bury, the first things we read are the decision notice, the conditions and any legal agreement attached to the permission.

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

Land without planning permission

For land on the edges of Bury with no consent yet, the first questions are access, flood risk and how the council's current plan treats the area.

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

Brownfield land

In Bury, 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

We look for infill plots across Bury 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

Backland development in Bury 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

Fields that wrap around the edges of Bury 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 Bury, 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 Bury 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 Bury 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

Across Bury, 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 Bury 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

We are looking for garage blocks and small yards around Bury, 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

Sites around Bury 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

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

How we could buy your land in Bury

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.

Development land in Bury: common questions

Do you buy development land in Bury?

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

Is Bury too far from our Birmingham base?

No. We are based in Great Barr, Birmingham, about 74 miles from Bury, and we look at land right across England and Wales.

How quickly can you look at a site in Bury?

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.

Can estate agents and land finders introduce sites?

Yes. Introducers are welcome with the owner's permission. Any fee is agreed in writing before details are shared, must be disclosed to the owner and confirmed by them in writing, and is paid only on completion.

Got land that could take new homes?

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

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