Someone has made a planning enquiry about our land

[Nige F]

Maybe do a free search for services- gas water electric sewage in near proximity to the site. Or factor in LPG/Oil- Borehole- National Grid- Treatment Plant A Country mile from the village is a long way.

 

[clifford1]

The dilema has resolved itself - the potential buyer has withdrawn. So presumably some kind of fast-track reply from the council has said No.
It's curious that the entire process - bid to estate agent, Pre-planning application to council, council request to estate agent for details, council response, bid withdrawn - has taken just over a week.
Now it's back to the handful of sensible bidders who just want a field for grazing.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Now it's back to the handful of sensible bidders who just want a field for grazing.

That's what you think .......

You cannot get pre-planning advice for this kind of development in a week.

 

[Nakajo]

Perhaps the estate agent submitted the enquiry

 

[clifford1]

You cannot get pre-planning advice for this kind of development in a week.

Then the council person I spoke to was lying. She said they had had a Pre-planning enguiry.
She said the same thing to the estate agent, and I saw the email from the council to the agent asking for a location map in connection with a planning enquiry.

It was the agent who suggested contacting the council myself to try and find out more, which would be odd if the agent had themselves submitted the enquiry. It would have cost them money to do so, surely have breached their professional code, and pointless because it could have lost them a sale if I had pursued it myself instead. As the council's email named the person making the enquiry, as one of the people who had already made an offer for the field, that theory would surely have involved collusion between the council, the estate agent, and a real or fictitious "front" person to pretend to be making the offer?
That all seems utterly convoluted and unlikely for an isolated field on a tiny rural road, surrounded by miles of agricultural land, with no sevices.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

All sounds like a load of BS, I wouldn't trust anything the council or an agent told you and why on earth would the council be asking the agent for a location map?

 

[Nakajo]

Professional code?

 

[wessex101]

This is Wales don't forget, their planning system is different.

Mind you it does sound odd, more like an informal enquiry than a pre-application advice submission.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Yes maybe, in which it's worth even less than a proper pre-app.

 

[JP_]

why not apply for planning permission to put some nice houses on it, then sell with that permission in place.
For planning permission, you can provide a pretty basic drawing, so long as utilities, access, roof plan etc. is shown, they can make a decision ... I think. I did my own extension plans, a small development must just be an extension of that.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

why not apply for planning permission to put some nice houses on it, then sell with that permission in place.
For planning permission, you can provide a pretty basic drawing, so long as utilities, access, roof plan etc. is shown, they can make a decision ... I think. I did my own extension plans, a small development must just be an extension of that.

An Outline Planning Application would cost about £10k just for the application fee. You'd pay half again for some proffessional fees to do some drawings. And that's assuming no other environmental reports, tree surveys etc etc would be required, which they would. And people wonder new houses cost so much and every last penny is pinched.

 

[JP_]

oh, a bit more than an extension then!

 

[clifford1]

The council reply to my enquiry:

"I refer to your e-mail below, unfortunately pre application advice forms received by the Local Planning Authority are not viewable by members of the public therefore we are unable to respond to your e-mail."

So unless the council email is incorrect it is a proper pre-application form not just an informal enquiry.

They wrote to the estate agent for more information because the applicant had not submitted a map showing the field's position regarding the nearest village. After the estate agent gave them the location map (which is public information displayed along with other details in their window) the would-be buyer withdrew.

 

[Mottie]

I think pre application and outline planning are different. I came across this when I was applying for PP for a house on a piece of land we owned. The local authority told me outline PP is expensive and normally only for a large multiple property developments. They used to give free pre application advice at one time but then they started charging for you to sit down with a planning officer and discuss the likelihood of PP being granted. I think they wanted around £600 for the sit down.