Skip to content

Wanted in Dover

Development land wanted in Dover

Development Land Wanted buys land of every size in Dover and the villages nearby.

Sitting about 36 miles east of Maidstone, Dover is within Kent, with Folkestone and Deal close by. We are based in Great Barr, Birmingham, around 169 miles from Dover, and we travel to see sites across England and Wales.

Kent ranges from the Medway towns, Dartford and Gravesend on the Thames to Maidstone, Ashford, Canterbury, Tunbridge Wells and the coastal towns of Margate, Ramsgate, Folkestone and Dover. West Kent is largely Metropolitan Green Belt, while the Kent Downs and High Weald National Landscapes cover much of the countryside. Sites typically include edge-of-town fields, orchards and farmland, farm buildings, infill plots and brownfield land in the towns.

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.

Parts of Kent 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 Dover

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

Residential development land

Around Dover, 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 Dover 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 Dover 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

Former works, depots and yards in and around Dover can make good housing sites once the ground and neighbouring uses are understood.

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

Infill plots

Infill gaps in Dover's established streets can be among the easiest small sites to bring forward when the design respects the neighbours.

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

Garden and backland plots

In parts of Dover 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 Dover 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 Dover, 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 Dover 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 Dover, 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 Dover, 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

Farm buildings near Dover that have fallen out of use may suit conversion, particularly traditional barns with a good access.

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 Dover, 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

If a scheme near Dover was refused or ran out of time, the officer's report usually shows what a better application would need.

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 Dover at any plan stage, from a first submission to an adopted allocation.

Ways to sell development land in Dover

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.

Questions owners in Dover ask

Do you buy development land in Dover?

Yes. We buy development land in Dover and throughout Kent, 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 Dover?

As Dover 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 Dover assessed?

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

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.

Submit a site 0800 088 6248

Call free Submit a site