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Wanted in Formby

Development land wanted in Formby

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

Formby is in Merseyside, about 11 miles north of Liverpool. Nearby places include Maghull, Southport and Bootle. Our base is in Great Barr, Birmingham, about 85 miles away, and we buy land throughout England and Wales.

Merseyside centres on Liverpool, with Birkenhead and Wallasey across the Mersey, Southport and Formby on the coast, and towns such as St Helens, Bootle, Huyton and Kirkby. Green Belt separates many of these places and covers much of the remaining open land, so most housing comes from previously developed land, docks, former industrial estates and town-centre sites. Grey belt and small fringe sites can also come forward.

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.

Parts of Merseyside 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 Formby

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

Residential development land

In and around Formby 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

If you hold a consent in or near Formby, send us the decision notice and the approved drawings; that is usually enough for a first view.

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 Formby 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 Formby 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

We look for infill plots across Formby 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

Around Formby, 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

Fields that wrap around the edges of Formby 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

If you own a substantial holding near Formby, 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

In Formby, small sites are often the leftover pieces: a side garden, an old garage block or a gap where a building once stood.

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

Commercial and industrial sites

In Formby, industrial land that has drifted out of use can often be reimagined as homes, subject to the council's view on employment land.

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

Redundant buildings

We are interested in buildings around Formby that have outlived their original use, whether they would be converted or replaced.

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 Formby 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

Garage courts tucked behind homes in Formby 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

Sites around Formby 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

Around Formby, allocated sites and land put forward to the council are usually the furthest along, so they can often move faster than land at an earlier stage.

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.

What happens after you get in touch

Send the basics
A postcode or plan and a few lines about the land are enough to start.
We do the homework
We check planning history, policy, flood maps and access at no cost to you.
We explain the options
You get a written proposal covering price, structure and timing.
Agree and proceed
Once you are happy, solicitors are instructed and the deal moves forward.

Frequently asked in Merseyside

Do you buy development land in Formby?

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

Is Formby too far from our Birmingham base?

No. We are based in Great Barr, Birmingham, about 85 miles from Formby, and we look at land right across England and Wales.

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

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

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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