Aston Mead Land & Planning Helping you maximise the value of your land
1 Aston Mead land and planning experts As a landowner, you are in possession of an ever-dwindling and increasingly valuable resource. Developers and house-builders are always on the lookout for sites to construct what is nationally recognised to be an acute shortage of new homes. But how do you find out if your land is suitable for development? What steps do you need to go through to assess its planning potential? And how can you find the necessary guidance to help you through the process from start to finish? Fortunately, specialist land and planning business Aston Mead Land & Planning is on hand to help. The team has a combined 150 years experience in land, planning, and development, with all directors spending their entire careers in the property industry. From appraisal and planning to securing buyers and construction, Aston Mead Land & Planning is with you every step of the way.
2 What makes a site suitable for development? There are lots of factors that give a site development potential. Most obviously, if the land is within an area surrounded by development, then it is highly likely that the site itself will also be suitable. It may even be part of the council s local plan, where the local authority wants to identify land suitable for its future housing supply. Such sites can include side plots, long rear gardens, or even multiple gardens with different owners, where we piece together a number of gardens to make a brand new plot. However, many authorities are still in the process of putting their local plan together, so might be persuaded to consider an area of land on the boundary of the town or village in question. We have years of experience in selecting and proposing such sites so you can let us do all the hard work. Similarly, old commercial buildings which are no longer fit for purpose can make excellent development sites. Recent properties we have handled include restaurants, public houses, car washes, industrial yards, former petrol stations, hotels, care homes and office blocks.
3 The next step Still not sure whether your property has development potential? We re happy to carry out a no-obligation desktop appraisal using the technology available to us at our offices. Simply give us a call and we ll get to work. Then, if we think the area warrants further exploration, we can arrange a visit to walk the site and get a better feel of the surroundings. This will include an examination of the lie of the land, elevations, trees and anything else that might have an impact on the site s suitability. It s often difficult for owners to recognise the many different ways in which their land could be developed. There may be reasons why their first idea is not suitable; some suggestions may need refining or expanding; or there may be alternative uses which have not even been considered. At times like this, it helps to have experts on hand to discuss the pros and cons of the options available which is where we come in. Remember there is no commitment to act required at this stage. All of this preparatory work can be carried out without any obligation to take matters further. We ll leave that decision entirely up to you.
4 Our involvement If we identify the site as having potential, and if you are happy to go ahead, you can now decide how you wish to go about selling to a developer either with a low-key or fully marketed approach. Selling land is a complicated business, and the alternative ways of going about it are often wide and varied see opposite for more detail. So we re happy to chat through the various options with you either by meeting at a convenient time in the comfort of your home, or you are welcome to join us at our head office in Egham. During a conversation over coffee, we ll discover which choice works best for you.
5 Types of agreements There are various ways of securing the sale of your site. An option agreement An option agreement allows the developer the time usually 12 months to secure planning on your site at their expense. Once planning has been granted, they can exercise their option to buy it. An unconditional deal As the name suggests, an unconditional deal is where a developer agrees to buy your property without planning permission. Whilst the risk they are undertaking means you may not get maximum development value for the site, the price paid is still likely to be higher than if the property was offered on the open residential market. A strategic deal Strategic land is any land which hasn t yet realised its development potential perhaps needing planning permission, consent or allocation before it becomes viable, and mainly for those with large sites which lie outside towns or villages. We act for an increasing number of developers who specialise in promoting strategic sites through what can be a logistically challenging and expensive planning process.
6 The Aston Mead team Our team s history of property sales spans more than 150 years, and our in-depth knowledge of resale values especially in London and the South East means that we can confidently offer the best possible service for any site s sale, all the while determined to drive the best result. Mike Wightman Mike has more than 35 years experience in the London and South East property market, specialising in residential property sales, land and new homes. His calm, considered approach coupled with a tenacious attitude to ensure the best outcome for his clients is very much in demand from landowners and developers alike. Neil Smith Neil was born, bred and has always lived and worked in the Surrey area. His work in estate agency from a young age followed by land development for over 30 years has given him a wealth of local knowledge and understanding of the development world. Adam Hesse Adam entered the estate agency world in the late 80s and never really looked back. He and his older brother Charles set up an estate agency of their own in the year 2000, which grew into a successful chain and was subsequently sold, prior to forming Aston Mead Land & Planning in 2015. Charles Hesse Charles began his estate agency career in the early 80s, focussing on residential sales, land and new homes. Having sold the estate agency business he founded with his brother Adam, he now concentrates his time on sourcing land for developers in the South East. Richard Watkins Richard has worked in estate agency in the Surrey/Berkshire area for over 30 years, the last ten of which have been spent in land and development. He has a great deal of experience and understanding of the business, along with a large contact base of developers both small and large.
7 Success stories Over the years, Aston Mead has achieved excellent results, creating a vast range of different developments on areas of land both big and small. Often, this has involved coming up with creative solutions to find suitable plots which otherwise would not have been available. Take 78 96 Ruden Way in Epsom, for example. Ruden Way 78 80 82 84 90 92 94 96 Amber Close This proposed site consisted of a row of eleven houses all with very long, mainly unused rear gardens. The owners had an appetite to sell off the rear parts (receiving a tax-free lump sum), and one was happy to sell their entire house and garden which was needed to create the access road. With everyone on board and keen to do a deal, we went to a select group of known and trusted developers, and with our expertise in maximising the value of a site, a sale was agreed to Antler Homes. Amber Close was born, with a stunning selection of detached and semi-detached houses, which improved not only the immediate area but also the values of the houses that now backed onto this new development.
8 Success stories A selection of some of our many other success stories. For the full story behind these and many more, see: astonmead.land/success-stories Portsmouth Road, Thames Ditton We were contacted by a homeowner on the back of other AM developments in the area. We identified Porchester Homes as the ideal buyer and a deal was agreed, with planning granted within 12 months for four luxury townhouses. Woodlands Way, Kingswood A dated house on a large plot on this popular private estate we approached the vendor on behalf of retained clients Banner Homes, which resulted in the purchase of the property and two large family homes being built in its place. Hag Hill Lane, Taplow A backland development site that we identified, with a number of adjoining landowners brought together. The site was sold to a retained client who secured planning for seven 2 and 3 bedroom family homes
9 London Road, Binfield A garage site on a busy corner of this popular Berkshire village. Planning was secured for 11 family houses built and subsequently sold by Vanderbilt Homes. Blackhills, Esher One of the few remaining underdeveloped plots on arguably one of the best roads in Surrey; a site acquired for Lusso Homes who secured planning for a 10,000 sq ft luxury mansion. Burleigh Road, Ascot A pair of rambling semi-detached houses with large gardens. We made approaches on behalf of Berkeley Homes who secured planning for seven detached homes and the refurbishment of the original houses. A very successful site for both vendor and developer! Cavendish Road, Weybridge A dated Edwardian mansion that had been converted into flats in the 70s and had large grounds. Tree preservation orders were negotiated and three large detached and two pairs of semidetached houses built.
Don t just take our word for it I instructed Adam Hesse in the sale of my property, a potential development site outside St George s Hill. Throughout the whole period of several years (it was a troublesome site) he acted professionally and with utmost integrity. He was patient and determined and he guided me through to a completed sale at a good price. I highly recommend Adam to any landowner. Mr C of Weybridge Of course we would say all this wouldn t we? So don t just take our word for it; here s some feedback from a few of our clients over the years: We have no doubt that the extensive Aston Mead marketing campaign coupled with Mike Wightman s expertise, guidance and negotiation skills enabled a very successful transaction. The sale price was significantly in excess of our initial expectations and those of other agents and developers we spoke to. We would highly recommend Aston Mead to anyone thinking of selling land. Mike & Russ Elrick, Send Hill Farm, Send I ve found Richard, Adam, Neil and the rest of the team to be particularly knowledgeable in all aspects of the sale of residential land, which they always seem to come up with on a regular basis. They are all very approachable and conduct themselves in a professional manner, and are willing to deal with any related problems in order to get the deal done. It s a pleasure to work with all at AM! John Waldron, Chartridge Developments Ltd The Studio, Tite Hill, Egham TW20 0NB t: 01932 950500 e: mail@astonmead.land w: astonmead.land aston-mead-land-and-planning facebook.com/astonmeadland @astonmead