Affordable Housing
Affordable housing is a combination of social rented, affordable rent and shared ownership housing, provided to eligible households whose needs are not met by the market.
The Government has introduced a new scheme called First Homes. This new scheme means that a First Home must be discounted by a minimum of 30% against the market value.
Affordable Rent
Affordable rent is a home with rents charged at up to 80% of market rents.
Annual Monitoring Report (AMR)
A report submitted to the government by local planning authorities or regional planning bodies assessing progress with and the effectiveness of a Local Development Framework (LDF).
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)
Statutory national landscape designation, primary purpose of which is to conserve and enhance natural beauty, designated by the Countryside Agency.
Article 4 Direction
A direction which withdraws automatic planning permission granted by the General Permitted Development Order.
Brownfield Land
Brownfield Land is land which is, or was occupied by a permanent structure, including the curtilage of the developed land and any associated fixed surface infrastructure. These sites have already been developed so their use for housing reduces urban sprawl.
Many brownfield sites are developed every year, however this is not enough of them to meet Local Authority housing needs. Therefore greenfield sites are needed.
Build New Homes
Land promoters support the housebuilding sector by providing “oven ready” land with planning permission that can easily be acquired and built out by national and regional housebuilders, helping bring homes to the market in a timely manner to meet local need.
Land promoters invest the time and funding needed to undertake the necessary technical, planning and design work required. They engage with local authorities, local residents, stakeholder groups and statutory consultees throughout the process.
The actual building of the homes is carried out by a housebuilder.
Catesby Estates
Catesby Estates is highly regarded as one of the foremost experts in strategic land promotion and infrastructure delivery in the UK.
Landowners choose to partner with us as their strategic land promoter, due to our track record in successfully delivering planning consents and our ability to maximise land value
Catesby Estates is part of Urban&Civic the leading Master Developer of large-scale strategic sites. Ounr head office is in Warwickshire and we have a office in Basingstoke.
Catesby Estates uses its in-house expertise and financial resources to fund the land promotion. No risk or cost to the landowner. We obtain planning permission and then market the site to housebuilders securing the highest possible financial return for the landowner.
The landowner is consulted during the whole process and our return as your land promoter is based on a pre-agreed split of the sale proceeds.
Land promotion is about ensuring a supply of land for the housebuilding industry, we don’t develop or build anything ourselves.
Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO)
An order issued by the government or a local authority to acquire land or buildings for public interest purposes.
Conservation Area
Areas of special architectural or historic interest.
Design and Access Statement (D & A)
A D & A statement can be made at a pre planning application stage by a developer, indicating the design principles upon which a proposal is to be based. It may also be submitted in support of a planning application.
Detailed Application or Full application
A planning application seeking full permission for a development proposal, with no matters reserved for later planning approval.
Determination
The process by which a local planning authority reaches a decision on whether a proposed development requires planning permission.
Development Plan Documents (DPDs)
Development Plan Documents are prepared by local planning authorities and outline the key development ambitions of the local development framework.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
A procedure to be followed for certain types of project to ensure that decisions are made in full knowledge of any likely significant effects on the environment.
First Homes
The Government has introduced a new scheme called First Homes. This new scheme means that a First Home must be discounted by a minimum of 30% against the market value.
After the discount has been applied, the first sale must be at a price no higher than £250,000. ‘First Homes’ will be protected to ensure that restrictions are place on the property at each future sale to make sure that the home continues to be affordable to future buyers.
These homes will also account for 25% of all affordable housing units delivered by developers through planning obligations moving forward.
Five Year Housing Land Supply
It takes on average 7 years for an authority to adopt a Local Plan. But in the meantime, there is a very real housing crisis. When people need homes now, it is unreasonable to make them wait for a new local plan to come into effect if there are sites that are suitable for development immediately.
Back in 2011, Government therefore introduced a requirement for Councils to have enough sites ready for development to meet their housing need for the next five years. That is what is meant by a ‘five-year housing land supply’.
In the last recession, house building dipped, and many authorities Local Plans were not sufficiently flexible to allow sites to come forward and hence many authorities could not demonstrate a five year land supply. This means that, in some locations, it was possible to secure planning permission for new homes on land which was not allocated or where there was no support from the council.
Get A Valuation Of My Land
Our land valuation and promotion services help you answer the question ‘What is my land worth?’
The question, however, should be ‘How much could my land be worth with planning permission?’ It is never too early to start thinking about whether your land has development potential, and putting together a land promotion strategy for your land.
As housing demand increases, so do the opportunities for landowners to offer up land (including green belt sites) for potential residential development.
This means your land's valuation could be more than you expect!
Click here to submit your land details.
Green Belt
Green Belt is protected from development and is designated around certain cities and large built up areas. It has the following aims:
- To check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas
- To prevent neighbouring towns from merging into one another
- To assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment
- To preserve the setting and special character of historic towns
- To assist in urban regeneration, by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land
Interesting statistics from the Institute of Economic Affairs
- The size of the Green Belt has more than doubled since 1979 - its total size growing from 721,500 hectares to 1,634,700 hectares
- This amounts to roughly 13 per cent of the land area of England, and covers one and a half times as much land as our towns and cities put together
- The designation of Green Belt land is not attributed based on environmental quality; rather, it effectively represents a form of 'discriminatory zoning', keeping people living in urban areas away from the Home Counties
- There is enough Green Belt land within the confines of Greater London - 32,500 hectares - to build 1.6 million average-size houses. Using a tenth of that land for building could produce 160,000 new homes - a significant response to the current under-supply of housing
Greenfield Land
Greenfield land is usually farmland, that has not been developed, and has no statutory protection.
Housing Crisis
The worsening of the UK housing crisis is well publicised, with the Government vowing to deliver 300,000 new homes every year. As strategic land promoters, Catesby Estates are committed to helping deliver new homes across the UK.
Illustrative Masterplan
The illustrative masterplan provides an indication of how development may come forward at the reserved matters stage within the ‘envelope’ of the framework plan
Independent Examination
The process by which a planning inspector may publicly examine a Development Plan Document (DPD) before issuing a report to the Local Authority. Usually, the report will recommend modifications to the submitted document in order for it to be found Sound and proceed to Adoption.
Infrastructure
The physical components essential to enable, sustain, or enhance societal living conditions necessary for development to take place such as roads, water supply, schools, hospitals etc.
Land Promoter
A strategic land promoter like Catesby Estates uses its in-house expertise and financial resources to fund the land promotion through the planning system. They obtain planning permission and then market the site to housebuilders securing the highest possible financial return for the landowner.
Land Promotion
Strategic land promotion or just land promotion:
- Identifying land sites suitable for development
- Putting forward a development proposal that is achievable
- Obtaining a planning permission
- Selling the site on the open market to maximise the value for the landowner
Catesby Estates uses its in-house expertise and financial resources to fund the land promotion. No risk or cost to the landowner. We obtain planning permission and then market the site to housebuilders securing the highest possible financial return for the landowner.
The landowner is consulted during the whole process and our return as your land promoter is based on a pre-agreed split of the sale proceeds.
Land promotion is about ensuring a supply of land for the housebuilding industry, we don’t develop or build anything ourselves.
Land Value
It is never too early to start thinking about whether your land has development potential, and putting together a land promotion strategy for your land.
As housing demand increases, so do the opportunities for landowners to offer up land (including green belt sites) for potential residential development.
This means your land's valuation could be more than you expect!
Your land is an important asset, whether you have surplus farm land, a country estate, large garden, grazing land and paddocks or defunct rural business land.
Land is the key ingredient in the building of new homes, and one of the most common questions is, how much is my land worth?
Answering that question isn’t as simple as it might seem. The development potential of any land is affected by the planning system, supply and demand, comparable sites and site specific calculations.
Get a no obligation valuation of your land. Click here to submit your land details.
Land Value Capture
The process of capturing some of the increase in land value which comes from policy decisions, the granting of planning permission by local authorities, or as a result of new or improved, publicly funded infrastructure projects
Land Worth
Answering that question isn’t as simple as it might seem. The development potential of any land is affected by the planning system, supply and demand, comparable sites and site specific calculations.
The question, however, should be ‘How much could my land be worth with planning permission?’ It is never too early to start thinking about whether your land has development potential, and putting together a land promotion strategy for your land.
As housing demand increases, so do the opportunities for landowners to offer up land (including green belt sites) for potential residential development.
This means your land's valuation could be more than you expect!
Click here to submit your land details.
Local Development Framework (LDF)
The Local Development Framework (LDF) is a folder of documents, which includes all the local planning authority's local development documents.
Local Development Order (LDO)
An order made by a local planning authority extending permitted development rights for certain forms of development, with regard to a relevant Local Development Document.
Local Development Scheme (LDS)
The local planning authority's time?scaled programme for the preparation of Local Development Documents that must be agreed with government and reviewed every year.
Local Plan
A document setting out the local planning authority's policies and proposals for the development and use of land and buildings in the authority's area. This includes adopted Local Plans, neighbourhood plans and the London Plan.
Local Planning Authority
The local authority or council that is empowered by law to exercise planning functions, often the local borough or district council. National Parks and the Broads Authority are also considered to be local planning authorities. County councils are the authority for waste and minerals matters.
Local Strategic Partnership (LSP)
An overall partnership of people that brings together organisations from the public, private, community and voluntary sector within a local authority area, with the objective of improving people's quality of life.
Local Transport Plan (LTP)
Sets out a transport strategy and measures to be delivered over the short, medium and long term.
LPDF
The Land, Planning and Development Federation (LPDF), formed in early 2018, is a collection of the UK’s leading land promotion and development businesses. The LPDF represents the views of land promoters, and is working with government, local authorities and communities to enhance the planning process, and help deliver the new homes and communities this country needs. Catesby Estates are founder members of the Federation. Find out more about the federation here.
Masterplan
A type of planning brief outlining the preferred usage of land and the overall approach to the layout of a developer.
National Planning Policy Framework
The National Planning Policy Framework is a key part of the government’s reforms to make the planning system less complex and more accessible.
Neighbourhood Plan
Neighbourhood planning gives communities direct power to develop a shared vision for their neighbourhood and shape the development and growth of their local area.
They are able to choose where they want new homes, shops and offices to be built, have their say on what those new buildings should look like and what infrastructure should be provided, and grant planning permission for the new buildings they want to see go ahead.
Neighbourhood planning provides a powerful set of tools for local people to plan for the types of development to meet their community’s needs and where the ambition of the neighbourhood is aligned with the strategic needs and priorities of the wider local area.
Neighbourhood planning is not a legal requirement but a right which communities in England can choose to use. Communities may decide that they could achieve the outcomes they want to see through other planning routes, such as incorporating their proposals for the neighbourhood into the local plan, or through other planning mechanisms such as Local Development Orders and supplementary planning documents or through pre-application consultation on development proposals.
Objectively Assessed Housing Need (OAHN)
Local Planning Authorities, as set out by the National Planning Policy Framework, are required to objectively assess need for housing in their areas. This figure is used as the starting point for how many houses a Local Planning Authority will need to plan for.
Option Agreement
An option agreement is a legal agreement made between a landowner and Catesby Estates. In return for a non-refundable sum of money, Catesby Estates has a legally binding option to purchase the land at some point in the future. This period of time is known as an “option period”.
Outline Application
An outline planning application seeks to establish whether the scale and nature of a proposed development would be acceptable to the local planning authority, before a second fully detailed planning application is put forward, which is called a Reserved Matters. A Reserved Matters application typically include information about the layout, scale and appearance of the development. No development can take place on site until the Reserved Matters application has been consented.
Both types of applications are required to undergo public consultation before submission. Statutory consultees for example the Environment Agency and the Highways Authority, and local residents will also have the opportunity to formally comment on the applications once they are submitted and registered with the Council.
An outline application is a standard way of dealing with planning, and the granting of an outline planning permission does not preclude local stakeholders from commenting on a Reserved Matters application at a later stage in the planning process.
Planning Appeal
The process whereby a planning applicant can challenge the refusal or non-determination of a planning application. In England and Wales, appeals are processed by the Planning Inspectorate.
Planning Condition
Condition attached to a planning permission which requires to be formally discharged prior to the development being completed.
Planning Inspectorate (PINS)
The Planning Inspectorate is the government body responsible for the processing of planning and enforcement appeals and holding inquiries into local development plans.
Planning Obligations and Section 106 Agreements
Legal agreement between a planning authority, landowner and a developer, or undertakings offered unilaterally by a developer, which ensure that mitigation required as a result of new development is provided.
Planning Permission
Formal approval sought from a council, often granted with conditions, allowing a proposed development to proceed. Permission may be sought in principle through outline planning applications, or be sought in detail through full applications.
Planning Policy Guidance (PPG)
Issued by central government setting out its national land use policies for England on different areas of planning.
Planning Policy Statement (PPS)
Issued by central government to replace the existing Planning Policy Guidance notes in order to provide greater clarity and to remove from national policy advice on practical implementation.
Planning Portal
A national website provided by the government for members of the public, local planning authorities and planning consultants. The Planning Portal features a wide range of information and includes the ability to submit planning applications electronically.
Promotion Agreement
Catesby Estates uses its resources to fund the strategic land promotion of the land through the planning process. Once planning permission has been achieved the site is then sold for the highest possible return.
The landowner is consulted during the whole process and our return is based on a pre agreed spilt of the sales proceeds.
Public Inquiry
A formal hearing held by a planning inspector to decide whether a planning application that has been appealed should be allowed or dismissed.
Public Open Space/Green Infrastructure
A network of multi-functional green space, urban and rural, which is capable of delivering a wide range of environmental and quality of life benefits for local communities.
Public Realm
Those parts of a village, town or city (whether publicly or privately owned) available, for everyone to use. This includes streets, squares and parks.
Purchase Agreement
For landowners wishing to dispose of land quickly, an outright purchase agreement of the land by Catesby Estates can be agreed. This can be with an overage in favour of the landowners to capture the uplift in value when a planning consent has been obtained.
Registered Parks and Gardens
A Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England, managed by Historic England under the provisions of the National Heritage Act 1983.
Reserved Matters
Where outline permission has been granted, and within three years of the outline approval, an application for the outstanding reserved matters can be submitted, i.e., the information excluded from the initial outline planning application. This will typically include information about the layout, scale and appearance of the development. No development can take place on site until the Reserved Matters application has been consented.
Both types of applications are required to undergo public consultation before submission. Statutory consultees and local residents will also have the opportunity to formally comment of the applications once they are submitted and registered with the Local Authority.
Section 106
A Section 106 Agreement is an obligation which makes a development proposal acceptable in planning terms. This can include a sum of money to the Local Authority to be used for other purposes or a restriction on part of the site or its use.
Shared Ownership
When you buy a home through a shared ownership scheme you buy a share of the property and pay rent on the rest.
The share you can buy is usually between 25% and 75%. You can buy a 10% share on some homes.
Social Housing
Social homes are provided by housing associations (not-for-profit organisations that own, let, and manage rented housing) or a local council. As a tenant, you rent your home and the housing association or council act as landlord.
Social housing is also sometimes known as council housing.
Special Protection Areas (SPAs)
Areas designated to safeguard European bird species considered to be of particular importance.
Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA)
The Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment is a technical study of land availability, identifying a future supply of land for housing and economic development uses over a period. It is used to inform the Local Plan making process as part of the evidence base and does nto constitute formal allocation of a site for development.
Strategic Land
Strategic land is often greenfield and located on the edge or close to sustainable towns and villages with good transport links and local facilities. Often the land doesn’t have planning permission but has the strategic potential for future development.
Strategic Land Promoter
A strategic land promoter like Catesby Estates uses its in-house expertise and financial resources to fund the land promotion through the planning system. They obtain planning permission and then market the site to housebuilders securing the highest possible financial return for the landowner.
No risk or cost to the landowner.
The landowner is consulted during the whole process and the land promoters return is based on a pre-agreed split of the sale proceeds.
Land promotion is about ensuring a supply of land for the housebuilding industry, land promoters don’t develop or build.
Strategic Land Promotion
Strategic land promotion or just land promotion:
- Identifying land sites suitable for development
- Putting forward a development proposal that is achievable
- Obtaining a planning permission
- Selling the site on the open market to maximise the value for the landowner
Catesby Estates uses its in-house expertise and financial resources to fund the land promotion. No risk or cost to the landowner. We obtain planning permission and then market the site to housebuilders securing the highest possible financial return for the landowner.
The landowner is consulted during the whole process and our return as your land promoter is based on a pre-agreed split of the sale proceeds.
Land promotion is about ensuring a supply of land for the housebuilding industry, we don’t develop or build anything ourselves.
Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG)
Alternative green space used as mitigation or avoidance to reduce the recreational use of a Special Protection Area (SPAs).
Supplementary Planning Document (SPD)
A Supplementary Planning Document is a Local Development Document that may cover a range of issues, thematic or site specific, and provides further detail of policies and proposals included within a the Development Plan.
Technical Deliverability
Housing delivery is a critical part of the economy, and central government has been keen to ensure planning consents are turned into houses quickly and efficiently. As a land promoter, Catesby Estates do not build houses, and therefore it is imperative for us to demonstrate that our planning permissions are turned into ‘real homes’ quickly.
The Government introduced the Housing Delivery Test to ensure Local Authorities grant consent for schemes that are deliverable. Catesby Estates has a best in class reputation, due to our ability to provide housebuilders with implementable permissions.
The plethora of technical challenges and constraints on a land site, the constant evolution of innovative technology and building methods, and the ever changing government regulations and requirements, means it’s a challenge to build the 300,000 new homes needed every year to help solve the housing crisis.
As one of the biggest names in the land promotion sector, Catesby Estates are well known by housebuilders for our ability to deliver technically sound and well considered residential land sites. Housebuilders and Local Authorities have confidence that a planning permission obtained by Catesby Estates is deliverable. This is a key part of our promotion strategy, and one of the main reasons why we are trusted by our partners and stakeholders.
Technical Team
As innovators within in the land promotion sector, we were one of the first to recognise the importance and added value, in-house technical expertise can deliver to both landowners and housebuilders. We nurtured and developed our own in-house technical team, making our skill set unique amongst land promoters.
Our technical team have a strong track record having worked for major housebuilders, and through their knowledge they are able to bring forward sites with comprehensive technical background work completed, and offer value engineered solutions to any site constraints.
This means there is less upfront risk for a housebuilder, that comes with a land site that has not been fully considered from a technical and deliverability perspective. This in turn increases the speed of housing delivery, with housebuilders able get onsite and start construction quicker.
The technical team are involved in all stages of land promotion from site acquisition and planning through to the final sale process. The team look at the deliverability and constraints of sites, which drive the evolution of the constraints plan and the final illustrative masterplan. They address issues such as gradients, ground investigation, access, highways, utilities, flood risk and drainage. This comprehensive technical input at the early stages, reduces the possibility of expensive delays later in the final sale and legal process of the land.
Added Value For Housebuilders And Local Authorities
Our in depth understanding of the housebuilders and their end product, offers added value for those looking to purchase land sites from Catesby Estates.
By constantly assessing and dealing with technical issues which can affect site deliverability means Local Authorities and other stakeholders at Planning Committees can have confidence in the planning consent they are granting and the quality of the development coming forward.
We have developed strong relationships with housebuilders, ranging from the large volume providers through to regional and local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) housebuilders, by selling deliverable, implementable planning consents. Housebuilders have access to our background technical assessments, and are able to meet with our technical team and draw on their expertise and in-depth site knowledge during the final sales process.
The Land, Planning and Development Federation
The Land, Planning and Development Federation, formed in early 2018, is a collection of the UK’s leading land promotion and development businesses. The LPDF represents the views of land promoters, and is working with government, local authorities and communities to enhance the planning process, and help deliver the new homes and communities this country needs. Catesby Estates are founder members of the Federation. Find out more at www.lpdf.co.uk.
Transport Assessment (TA)
A transport assessment is a comprehensive and systematic report that sets out transport issues relating to a proposed development.
Urban&Civic
Urban&Civic strives to be a best in class property company which crafts strategic land sites and commercial developments.
Over the last ten years, the business has grown to become the leading Master Developer of large-scale strategic sites. In January 2021 Urban&Civic was acquired by the Wellcome Trust.
Wildlife Corridor
Strips of land (for example, along a hedgerow) conserved and managed for wildlife.
