Strategic land wanted in Colne
We want to hear from owners of strategic land in Colne. There is nothing to pay us, and you are under no obligation.
Strategic land means sites big enough to need long-term promotion, infrastructure and often a local plan allocation. Owners typically keep the land while it is promoted and are paid when planning is secured and the land is sold.
- Size
- 50+ homes
- Planning
- Usually without
- Areas
- England & Wales
- Ways we buy
- Option or JV
Is your land in Colne the kind we want?
Larger landholdings on the approaches to Colne are where strategic land usually comes from, particularly near transport links. Sitting about 23 miles east of Preston, Colne is within Lancashire, with Nelson and Burnley close by.
- Land for 50 or more homes next to a town or larger village
- Sites that could form part of a local plan allocation
- Land near railway stations or good bus routes
- Sites already being considered by the council
Lancashire includes Preston, Blackburn, Burnley, Blackpool and Lancaster alongside the Fylde coast resorts, the East Lancashire mill towns and many rural villages. Green Belt covers much of the south and east, between the Merseyside and Greater Manchester conurbations, and smaller areas around Blackpool and Lancaster. Former mill and industrial land, edge-of-town fields and village infill are the usual sources of housing land, with grey belt now relevant on parts of the urban fringe.
Checks we make on strategic land in Colne
Local plan timing
Strategic sites usually move with the plan cycle, so we look at where the council is in its review.
Station proximity (England)
The August 2026 NPPF gives new support to suitable development within reasonable walking distance of well-connected stations.
Promotion costs
Technical studies and plan representations cost money; under an option we pay them up front, and any recovery from the price is capped in the heads of terms.
Where an English council cannot show a five-year supply of housing land, or its Housing Delivery Test result falls below 75%, the August 2026 NPPF can give policy support to suitable housing outside settlement boundaries.
Some land in Lancashire 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.
Though we are based in Birmingham (roughly 91 miles away), distance is no barrier: we look at land across England and Wales.
Choosing how to sell
Outright purchase
Rare before planning; more usual once an allocation or outline consent exists.
Outright purchaseSubject-to-planning contract
Possible for the first phase of a larger holding.
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 agreementHow a sale to us works
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.
Questions owners in Colne ask
Do I need to do anything while the land is promoted?
Usually very little beyond signing representations and allowing surveys. You normally keep using the land.
Will I be paid anything before planning?
Under an option, owners are usually paid a premium on signing, with the main payment when the land is sold after planning.
Which planning rules apply to land in Colne?
As Colne 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.
Do I need to pay anything to have land in Colne assessed?
No. Our appraisal is free and there is no obligation to sell to us.