Land with planning permission wanted in County Durham
We are actively looking for land with planning permission in County Durham and the surrounding area, with or without planning permission.
Planning permission turns land into a development site with a defined scheme. We are buyers for consented land of all sizes, from a single approved plot to larger outline permissions, and we review the conditions and legal agreements in detail before making an offer.
- Size
- Any number of homes
- Planning
- Outline, full or reserved matters
- Areas
- England & Wales
- Ways we buy
- Outright or conditional
What land with planning permission we want near County Durham
County Durham here includes the Tees Valley towns of Darlington, Stockton-on-Tees and Hartlepool as well as Durham, Chester-le-Street, Consett, Bishop Auckland and the former coalfield villages. Green Belt protects land around Durham and between the Tyne and Wear conurbation and nearby towns, while the North Pennines National Landscape covers the west. Former colliery land, edge-of-village fields and older industrial sites are common sources of housing land.
- Outline permissions, full permissions and approved reserved matters
- Permissions that are close to their time limit to start work
- Sites where some pre-commencement conditions are still to be discharged
- Larger consented schemes where the owner does not want to build
The East Coast Main Line and A1(M) run north to south through the area, linking Darlington and Durham with Newcastle. Much of the county is former coalfield, so mining risk checks are routine, and nutrient neutrality advice has applied in parts of the Tees catchment draining to Teesmouth.
What usually makes or breaks it
Conditions
Pre-commencement conditions, such as drainage or ecology details, must be dealt with before work can lawfully start.
Scheme design
Some approved layouts are hard to build or sell; others can be improved with a fresh application.
Title and access
Consent does not cure title problems, so rights of access and covenants still need checking.
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.
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.
Parts of County Durham 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 with planning permission wanted in towns across County Durham
Choosing how to sell
Outright purchase
The usual route for consented land: an agreed price and a straightforward sale.
Outright purchaseSubject-to-planning contract
Used where a fresh or amended application would improve the scheme.
Subject-to-planning contractOption agreement
Rarely needed once permission exists, but possible for phased sites.
Option agreementThe next steps
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.
Frequently asked in County Durham
Do I need to discharge the conditions before selling?
No. Many sites are sold with conditions still outstanding. We look at what is left to do and allow for it.
Will the Section 106 obligations transfer to the buyer?
Planning obligations usually run with the land, so they bind whoever owns it. We review them as part of our due diligence.
Which planning rules apply to land in County Durham?
As County Durham 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 County Durham assessed?
No. Our appraisal is free and there is no obligation to sell to us.