Land without planning permission wanted in County Durham
Development Land Wanted buys land without planning permission in County Durham and right across England and Wales. Owners and agents are both welcome.
Having no planning permission does not rule land out. Many good development sites start as fields or yards with no consent. We look at local policy, access and constraints, then explain the options, including deals where we take on the planning work.
- Size
- Any
- Planning
- None yet
- Areas
- England & Wales
- Ways we buy
- Conditional, option or JV
The land without planning permission that interests us around 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.
- Fields and paddocks next to existing settlements
- Land the owner has put forward to a local plan or call for sites
- Land where a previous application was refused for reasons that could be overcome
- Land of any size, including single plots
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
Timescale
Getting permission can take months or years; we are honest about that from the start.
Access and highways
Without a safe access, even well-located land is unlikely to get consent.
Your involvement
You can sell now, sell subject to planning, or grant an option; each asks a different amount of you.
National policy in England now recognises "medium development" of 10 to 49 homes on sites up to 2.5 hectares, and asks councils to allocate at least 10% of their housing on sites of one hectare or less and a further 10% on sites of one to 2.5 hectares.
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.
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.
Parts of County Durham fall within North Pennines National Landscape. Protected landscapes carry strong policy protection, so land in or next to them needs particularly careful assessment.
Land without planning permission wanted in towns across County Durham
Four ways to sell to us
Outright purchase
Possible where we are comfortable taking the planning risk ourselves.
Outright purchaseSubject-to-planning contract
We agree a price now and complete once a satisfactory planning permission is granted.
Subject-to-planning contractOption agreement
Suits bigger sites or longer timescales; you are paid a premium and keep the land meanwhile.
Option agreementJoint venture
You contribute the land, we fund and manage planning and delivery, and the proceeds are shared as agreed.
Joint ventureThe 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
Can I keep using the land while planning is sought?
Usually, yes. Farming, grazing or other current uses can generally continue until completion, subject to what we agree.
Do you buy land with no planning outright?
Sometimes. If we are confident about the planning route we can buy outright, which gives you certainty sooner but reflects the risk we take on.
How quickly can you look at a site in County Durham?
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.
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.