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Wanted in Crawley

Development land wanted in Crawley

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

Crawley is in West Sussex, about 32 miles north-east of Chichester. Nearby places include Horley, Horsham and East Grinstead. Though we are based in Birmingham (roughly 124 miles away), distance is no barrier: we look at land across England and Wales.

West Sussex includes Crawley, Horsham, Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill, East Grinstead and Chichester and the coastal towns of Worthing, Bognor Regis, Littlehampton, Shoreham-by-Sea and Lancing. It has only a very small area of Green Belt on the Surrey border, but the South Downs National Park and the High Weald and Chichester Harbour National Landscapes cover large parts. Typical sites include edge-of-town fields, farm buildings, infill plots and urban brownfield land.

The August 2026 NPPF supports homes within reasonable walking distance (around 800 metres) of well-connected railway stations, with minimum densities of 35 homes per hectare, or 45 near higher-frequency stations.

Some land in West Sussex 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 Crawley

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 Crawley 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

If you hold a consent in or near Crawley, 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 Crawley 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 Crawley 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 Crawley'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

Around Crawley, 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

Around Crawley, paddocks and fields beside existing homes can have real potential, even where they have been grazed or farmed for generations.

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 Crawley, 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 Crawley 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

In Crawley, 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

Across Crawley, 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 Crawley 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

Across Crawley, lock-up blocks that are half empty can be a better use of land as homes, with parking handled sensibly.

Overgrown fenced plot with brambles and saplings behind a weathered hoarding between houses

Sites with lapsed or refused planning

Sites around Crawley 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

We are interested in land around Crawley at any plan stage, from a first submission to an adopted allocation.

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.

Development land in Crawley: common questions

Do you buy development land in Crawley?

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

How quickly can you look at a site in Crawley?

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.

Which planning rules apply to land in Crawley?

As Crawley 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.

Can I keep using the land until the sale?

Usually, yes. Under a subject-to-planning contract or an option, current uses can normally continue until completion.

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

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