Subject-to-planning contract for land in Powys

Subject-to-planning contract for land in Powys

Subject-to-planning contract is one of four ways we buy land in Powys. Powys is a large and sparsely populated county with market towns such as Newtown, Welshpool, Brecon, Llandrindod Wells, Builth Wells and Ystradgynlais and many small villages. There is no green belt, and Bannau Brycheiniog National Park covers much of the south. Phosphate limits in the Wye and Usk river catchments have restricted new housing in large parts of the county, making drainage the first question for many sites.

Most new homes are planned in the market towns and larger villages, with smaller sites, farm buildings and infill plots in rural communities. Flood risk under TAN 15 in the Severn and Wye valleys, and the Cambrian Line and Heart of Wales Line rail corridors, also influence where development is supported.

In Wales a planning permission usually lasts five years before work must begin, and land purchases are subject to Land Transaction Tax rather than Stamp Duty Land Tax.

Welsh planning policy seeks a net benefit for biodiversity rather than using England's statutory biodiversity net gain metric, so ecology is assessed differently on Welsh sites.

Parts of Powys fall within Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. Protected landscapes carry strong policy protection, so land in or next to them needs particularly careful assessment.

In short: we agree a price now and complete once a satisfactory planning permission is granted. It usually suits land without planning that has a realistic route; infill, garden and small sites; owners who want a value linked to planning without funding it. See how a subject-to-planning contract works for the full process, pros and cons.