Land with planning permission wanted in Essex
If you own land with planning permission in or around Essex, we would like to hear about it. We buy directly and give a free, no-obligation appraisal.
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
The land with planning permission that interests us around Essex
Essex is one of the most varied counties for land, from Southend-on-Sea, Basildon, Chelmsford, Colchester and Harlow to the Tendring coast and many rural villages. Much of the south and west is Metropolitan Green Belt, where grey belt and previously developed land are key, while north-east Essex, including Colchester and the Tendring coast, has none. Typical sites include edge-of-village fields, farmyards, former employment land and coastal-town brownfield sites.
- Outline permissions, full permissions and approved reserved matters
- Consents with a Section 106 agreement or Community Infrastructure Levy liability
- Sites where some pre-commencement conditions are still to be discharged
- Larger consented schemes where the owner does not want to build
The Thames estuary, the Blackwater and the Colne bring flood risk and coastal habitat considerations, and many coastal schemes contribute to recreational disturbance mitigation for protected birds. The A12, A120 and Great Eastern Main Line corridors, and the Dedham Vale and Suffolk and Essex Coast and Heaths National Landscapes in the north, shape where growth goes.
What decides whether a site in Essex works
Time limit
Permissions normally have to be started within a set period, so the date the consent expires matters a great deal.
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.
The Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 introduced Environmental Delivery Plans and a Nature Restoration Levy in England, which over time may offer an alternative to site-by-site mitigation for some environmental issues.
English councils keep brownfield land registers, and some previously developed sites can be granted permission in principle, a quicker way of establishing whether housing is acceptable before technical details are settled.
Land with planning permission wanted in towns across Essex
Ways to sell land with planning permission in Essex
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 agreementHow a sale to us works
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.
Your questions answered
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.
Can you buy if the approved scheme is not one you would build?
Yes. Sometimes we buy on the basis of the existing permission and then seek changes through a new or amended application.
Do you buy land with planning permission in Essex?
Yes. We buy land with planning permission in Essex and throughout Essex, as well as elsewhere in England and Wales. Tell us where the land is and we will give you a free appraisal.
Can an agent introduce land in Essex to you?
Yes. Estate agents, land agents and planning consultants can introduce sites with the owner's consent. Any fee is agreed in writing before details are shared, confirmed by the owner in writing and paid only on completion.
