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For many, generally the first thing they know of a new development is when they see a digger starting onsite. What they do not see is the months, or even years for larger developments, of paperwork behind the scenes and the hard work often put in by the landowner to ‘promote’ the site.
Whilst there are a number of possible ways to ‘promote’ a site, in many cases the start of the journey involves putting the land into a ‘call for sites’ for preliminary assessment. The purpose of this process is to make the local council aware that the land is possibly available for development and is broadly suitable and could result in the delivery of development.
Most Councils run ‘calls for sites’ on a semi regular basis of every 1-2 years, but this can be sporadic. However, where there is no active ‘call for sites’ being run by the local council it is still worthwhile checking when the next exercise is planned.
For those in East and Mid Devon, the District Councils are currently running a ‘call for sites’ for housing developments of 5 or more dwellings or for employment use on an area over 0.25 hectares as part of their emerging new local plan. This process will run until the 15 March 2021 in East Devon and 22 March 2021 in Mid Devon.
Whilst there is nothing to stop landowners completing the paperwork themselves, Alister Smith head of Planning and Development at Stags advises that using a planning and development agent enhances the prospects of the site being viewed favourably by the local council, as they will know how to show the site in the best light and engaging a professional will demonstrate that you are committed to bringing the land forward. Contact Stags Planning and Development team via planning@stags.co.uk or on 01392 439046.
