Land without planning permission wanted in Surrey
Development Land Wanted buys land without planning permission in Surrey and right across England and Wales. Owners and agents are both welcome.
Land without planning permission is land that has no current consent for development but may be able to get one. Most of the land we are offered falls into this group, and we assess whether a planning route is realistic before suggesting how a sale could work.
- Size
- Any
- Planning
- None yet
- Areas
- England & Wales
- Ways we buy
- Conditional, option or JV
Is your land in Surrey the kind we want?
Surrey is a county of commuter towns, including Woking, Guildford, Epsom, Reigate, Redhill, Camberley, Staines-upon-Thames and Farnham, and many villages. Most of the county is Metropolitan Green Belt, and the Surrey Hills and High Weald National Landscapes cover much of the south. Previously developed land, infill plots, garden and backland sites and grey belt are therefore central to housing supply, with larger sites usually allocated through local plans.
- Fields and paddocks next to existing settlements
- Plots within towns and villages that have never been built on
- Land where a previous application was refused for reasons that could be overcome
- Land of any size, including single plots
Heathland protection in the west of the county means many schemes contribute to mitigation for the Thames Basin Heaths, and flood risk from the Thames and Mole affects riverside towns. Stations on the lines into Waterloo and Victoria matter, as English planning policy now gives weight to locations near well-connected stations.
Checks we make on land without planning permission in Surrey
Who pays for planning
Applications, surveys and reports cost money; on conditional and option deals we normally pay for them up front, and any costs deducted from the price are agreed and capped.
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.
Since 6 August 2026, non-major development on sites of 0.2 hectares or less in England has generally been exempt from mandatory biodiversity net gain, unless priority habitat is affected. That makes many small sites simpler to bring forward.
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.
Some land in Surrey 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.
Parts of Surrey fall within Surrey Hills National Landscape and High Weald 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 Surrey
Choosing how to sell
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
For owners who want a bigger share of the upside in return for more risk.
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.
Your questions answered
What if planning is refused?
That depends on the deal. Under a conditional contract we can usually decide whether to appeal, re-apply or walk away; if we walk away you keep your land.
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 Surrey?
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 Surrey assessed?
No. Our appraisal is free and there is no obligation to sell to us.