Sites with lapsed or refused planning wanted in Melksham
Development Land Wanted buys sites with lapsed or refused planning in Melksham and right across England and Wales. Owners and agents are both welcome.
If your permission expired or an application was refused, the land may still be developable. A refusal often comes down to design, access or a specific technical issue that can be addressed in a new application.
- Size
- Any
- Planning
- Lapsed, refused or withdrawn
- Areas
- England & Wales
- Ways we buy
- Conditional or outright
Sites with lapsed or refused planning we are looking for in Melksham
If a scheme near Melksham was refused or ran out of time, the officer's report usually shows what a better application would need. Sitting about 5 miles north-east of Trowbridge, Melksham is within Wiltshire, with Trowbridge and Chippenham close by.
- Sites where planning permission has expired
- Land refused for design, access or technical reasons
- Withdrawn applications
- Plots where policy has changed since the last decision
Wiltshire includes Swindon, Salisbury, Trowbridge, Chippenham, Melksham, Devizes, Calne, Warminster and Westbury, with many villages and much open downland. Green Belt from the Bristol and Bath area reaches the west of the county, and the North Wessex Downs, Cranborne Chase and Cotswolds National Landscapes and part of the New Forest National Park cover large areas. Typical sites include edge-of-town fields, farm buildings, village infill and former military or industrial land.
Checks we make on sites with lapsed or refused planning in Melksham
Policy changes
National and local policy may have moved since the last decision, for better or worse.
Technical work
Some refusals turn on drainage, highways or ecology evidence that can be improved.
Time since decision
The longer ago the decision, the more the context may have changed.
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.
Some land in Wiltshire 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.
Our base is in Great Barr, Birmingham, about 82 miles away, and we buy land throughout England and Wales.
Four ways to sell to us
Subject-to-planning contract
The usual route: we make the revised application and complete on success.
Subject-to-planning contractOption agreement
You grant us the right to buy within a set period, usually for an option premium, while we pursue planning.
Option agreementFrom first call to completion
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 Wiltshire
My application was refused. Should I appeal or re-apply?
It depends on the reasons and time limits. Sometimes a revised application is better than an appeal. We look at the decision and say what we would do.
My permission lapsed years ago. Is it still relevant?
Yes. An old permission shows the principle was once accepted, though current policy now applies.
Is Melksham too far from our Birmingham base?
No. We are based in Great Barr, Birmingham, about 82 miles from Melksham, and we look at land right across England and Wales.
Which planning rules apply to land in Melksham?
As Melksham 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.