Webinar wrap-up: The future of strategic land

Strategic land can be a profitable move for developers, and it’s likely to play an instrumental role in helping local authorities achieve their housing targets.

However,  strategic land deals aren’t for everyone.They require a lot of patience and long-term investment (plus some luck). 

But if you are looking to throw your hat into the ring, now is an exciting time to get involved. 

That’s why we spoke to Paul Smith from the Strategic Land Group and Tom Hall and Lisa Tye from Shoosmiths to get their perspective on what the future holds for strategic land.

What is strategic land? 

Strategic sites are those with development potential, but aren’t yet deliverable due to current planning policy restrictions. 

In order to build on this land, you need to change the policy or find a way to override it (by demonstrating that the policy itself is out of date). 

For a more detailed overview of the process, take a look at our blog post How to get started in strategic land.

Lisa discussed the importance of risk and hope in the strategic land process. At the core, it’s about buying up land in the hope that it becomes valuable in the future. 

“We talk about it in terms of house-building but really strategic land is about how land is used in the country. It’s proper plan making about what land should be used for.” – Lisa

Key takeaways

Is a zoning system on the way?

Our panel discussed the ideas set out in the Planning for the Future white paper and the likelihood of zoning being introduced here in the UK. 

Paul believes that the white paper’s emphasis was not on a new form of land categorisation, but instead focused on making the system we already have more streamlined and responsive. 

“It’s actually very close to the current local plan system, but it’s just cutting away some of the detail that isn't needed.” – Paul

However, we could be getting closer to zoning when it comes to design codes for existing urban areas. They could inform which types of development are built in which areas, even getting down to the nitty gritty of how tall a building’s ridge height should be. 

More details will be revealed in the Planning Reform Bill coming later this year, so watch this space. 

Resources versus reform

Even before the pandemic, planning departments were understaffed, but the last year has stretched their resources even further.

“Councils just, from what I understand, don’t have enough staff to push through the schemes or the understanding of the schemes.” – Tom 

Although the white paper does mention better resourcing, it doesn’t specifically talk about recruiting more Planning Officers. 

Therefore, will reform instead of recruitment be the Government’s answer to the current lack of resources? 

Paul suggested, for example, decreasing some of the responsibilities of Planning Officers. 

This could make the process for promoting strategic land deals shorter and simpler (and, most importantly, get more houses built). 

Strategic land as a way to reach housing targets

With the rise of remote working, many people have moved out of bigger cities, opting instead for suburban homes with gardens. 

As demand rises for these types of property, so do the prices – adding an increasing strain on supply.

But, up until now, housing delivery plans have largely been based on building apartments on brownfield sites in urban centres.The shift in property preference has meant that much-needed homes are being built in areas where there’s no longer as much demand. 

With increasing pressure on green belt and greenfield sites, this opens up a lot of opportunities for those operating in the strategic land sector. 

“The massively pent up demand for new-build housing is going to mean that the next couple of years for those in this sector is going to be really, really interesting.” – Tom 

Watch the on-demand webinar

Lisa, Paul and Tom delved into a lot more detail about the future direction of strategic land in our recent webinar. 

Check out the on-demand version below for lots more insights into the opportunities, challenges and changes that could be on the horizon for the strategic land market.