Small sites wanted in County Durham
If you own small sites in or around County Durham, we would like to hear about it. We buy directly and give a free, no-obligation appraisal.
If your land could take a few homes rather than a few hundred, it is a small site. These plots are central to what we buy, and we can usually give a quick view on whether one is worth pursuing.
- Size
- About 1 to 9 homes
- Planning
- With or without
- Areas
- England & Wales
- Ways we buy
- Outright or conditional
What small sites 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.
- Small fields or paddocks next to villages
- Garage blocks and small yards
- Sites where an earlier application can be improved
- Land within or touching a settlement boundary
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 decides whether a site in County Durham works
Affordable housing thresholds
In England affordable housing is usually only sought on schemes of ten or more homes; in Wales many councils seek contributions from smaller sites, sometimes a single home.
BNG (England)
From 6 August 2026 non-major sites of 0.2 ha or less are generally exempt from mandatory BNG unless priority habitat is affected.
Drainage
Sustainable drainage and sewer connections can still be significant on small sites.
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.
In England, a planning permission normally has to be implemented within three years unless the council sets a different period, and councils aim to decide minor applications within eight weeks and major ones within thirteen.
Small sites wanted in towns across County Durham
How we could buy your land in County Durham
Subject-to-planning contract
Popular for small plots: you only sell once permission is granted.
Subject-to-planning contractThe next steps
Tell us about the land
Use the form or call us with the location and a rough outline of the site.
Free appraisal
We review title, planning and constraints and tell you honestly what we think.
Written offer
If the site suits us, we set out an offer and the way we propose to buy.
Solicitors take over
Your solicitor and ours agree the contract; we keep you informed throughout.
Small sites in County Durham: common questions
How quickly can you give a view?
For a small site with a clear plan and photos, we can usually say quickly whether it is worth pursuing and how.
Can you buy a single building plot?
Yes. Single plots, with or without consent, are part of what we buy.
Do you buy small sites in County Durham?
Yes. We buy small sites in County Durham and throughout County Durham, as well as elsewhere in England and Wales. Tell us where the land is and we will give you a free appraisal.
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.