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Purchasing land for development
Whether you’re buying land to build a house, commercial buildings or multiple properties, assessing the land properly is crucial. Finding the right decent land to build on can take time. It’s important to be aware of potential challenges or issues. Knowing how to assess potential plots and the types of surveys that can help can save you plenty of time, costs and stress further down the road.
The challenges of buying land to build
What does buying and developing land involve?
When buying land and building a house or commercial property you will first need to assess the land thoroughly and mitigate against any risks. You can then create a bespoke property that takes account of anything you’ve learned about the land. After purchasing land to build on, you should get insurance, and ensure you have planning permission before beginning any construction work.
Site preparation
Varied terrain can make construction difficult, especially on larger sites where it isn’t always immediately visible to the eye.
Managing costs
Unexpected issues and uncertainty can have the biggest impact on project costs.
Boundaries & access
Unclear boundaries can complicate construction work and later property sales.
Environmental issues
Wetlands and flood zones can be significant challenges to developing land to build on.
A Guide to Buying Land to Build On: Key Considerations
When first examining the site, make sure you are clear on the legal boundaries of the land you’re buying – don’t simply rely on visible walls, fences or gates.
In England and Wales, each county council has a duty to keep a legal record of public rights of way, called the Definitive Map. You are unlikely to be able to remove it, although you may be able to divert a right of way. The diverted path cannot be substantially less convenient to the public.
Buying land with planning permission can make your project smoother, so you should find out whether there is any in place. Planning approvals normally last 3 years and can come with up to 20 conditions attached. If you do plan to build with the land’s existing planning permission, check it hasn’t expired (and that it isn’t about to) and make sure you understand the implications of any conditions.
If you’re buying land to build on without planning permission already in place, there are more risks. However, it does offer you potential for greater creative freedom with your own unique design. Look into the site’s history – has it been given permission before? What are the local planning policies for the area? The planning process can be complicated and challenging, so take tailored advice from surveyors, architects or a planning consultant.
Check for any obstacles that could add time and costs to your build, like protected trees, manholes and telegraph poles. Less-obvious challenges can be underground utilities and poor ground conditions, which will need investigations.
Besides land costs, materials and construction labour, it’s important to consider other costs involved when buying land and building on it. These include architect’s fees, connections to services, planning and applications, surveys.
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How surveys benefit buying land to build on
A topographical site survey can check the existing boundaries and survey any proposed subdivisions. This ensures you can be certain about the legal boundaries of the land you’re buying.
Topographical surveys can provide you with information about a site’s terrain, so you can understand how any gradient changes might impact your construction plans. For instance, sloping sites often need more investment in the building’s foundations.
After you’ve bought the land it will be registered with HM Land Registry. This gives you proof of ownership, helps with fraud protection and makes it easier to sell or pass on in the future. We can carry out surveys of the area bought and then prepare Land Registry compliant site plans for the legal process.
What surveys could you need?
As-Built Surveys
A fully up-to-date record of what has just been constructed, ensuring it matches the proposed plans. Useful for producing further plans that require an accurate site layout.
Floor Level Surveys
Quality survey check for various floor construction stages, from existing floors to newly constructed slabs.
Garden Surveys
Highly detailed, specialist topographical survey for garden landscaping and redesigns.
GPS Surveys
Ideal for covering large open spaces, like fields, or where access may be restricted or challenging.
Measured Building Surveys
3D site survey of a building’s layout and structure that can also be used to produce floor plans, elevations and cross-section drawings.
River & Floodplain Surveys
Surveys of riverbanks and beds, as well as adjacent floodplains. We record water levels and significant features for flood risk assessments and erosion monitoring.
Road Surveys
Comprehensive record of current road layouts and levels, including kerbs, street furniture and road markings. Ideal for visibility splays and new highways designs.
Setting Out
Geocordinated setting out services for building groundworks and steelworks for new housing, commercial and industrial sites.
Surveys for Land Registry Title Plans
Site surveys for creating Land Registry compliant plans to record areas of sale, transfer, correction or first registration.
Topographical Surveys
Accurate, scaled plan of a site’s terrain, and a record of the position and levels of both manmade and natural features.
Volumetric Surveys & Terrain Models
Measuring the total amount of stockpiled, extracted or collected materials and aggregates. Suitable for construction, calculating and auditing.
How we work
Step 01
Request a quote
We’ll need your project’s address and a site plan. We’ll then get in touch for a consultation to confirm site details and understand exactly what your project needs.
Step 02
Quote accepted
Once your project is confirmed with us, we’ll arrange a convenient date for your survey.
Step 03
We complete your survey
We’ll visit your project site to carry out the survey. We can meet you on site if needed. We will then process the survey data and create a survey drawing.
Step 04
Receive your survey
We’ll share the survey data with you, usually within a few days. We use industry standard file types and can issue all the drawings in multiple formats.
Who we work with
Why choose Cheshire Surveys
We provide a range of surveys and related services across the North West, Cheshire, North Staffordshire and North Wales.
Passion & technical expertise
25+ years experience
Quality services tailored to your project
