From First Enquiry to Sale
A Clear Process Built Around the Landowner’s Site
Every opportunity is different, but our work follows a structured sequence: review the land, agree the strategy, fund and manage promotion, secure the strongest planning outcome available and market the land competitively.
The process begins with a free, no-obligation review. We identify the planning authority, Local Plan position, settlement relationship, access, visible environmental constraints, infrastructure and potential development uses. This establishes whether the land appears to present an immediate planning opportunity, a longer-term plan-making opportunity or insufficient justification for further work at that stage.
Where the land appears suitable and both parties wish to proceed, the planning and commercial strategy is discussed before an agreement is signed. The landowner retains ownership. The agreement records the objectives, responsibilities, expenditure, approvals, fee, marketing process, sale protections and what happens if planning is not secured.
We then assemble and manage the appropriate consultant team. The work may involve Call for Sites submissions, Local Plan representations, access and highway advice, ecology, landscape, flood and drainage studies, utilities, heritage, ground investigation, viability, masterplanning and a planning application. The evidence is proportionate to the site and the stage reached.
Our usual promotion model is designed so the landowner does not have to fund the agreed planning process upfront. We manage and pay the agreed consultant, planning and promotion costs at our own risk. Following a successful planning outcome, the land is marketed to developers and our agreed fee and recoverable costs are paid from the sale proceeds in accordance with the agreement.
Land promotion is not a promise of planning permission or a quick sale. It is a managed process intended to improve planning certainty, establish development value and create competition when the land is ready to be sold.
The Complete Journey
The Main Stages of Working With Value My Land
The precise planning route varies, but these stages show how an enquiry can progress from initial assessment to a completed development-land sale.
Free Initial Review
We identify the site, planning authority, policy position, settlement relationship and obvious planning and technical constraints.
Development Strategy
We explain the realistic routes, likely evidence, broad timescale and whether an application, Call for Sites or Local Plan promotion may be appropriate.
Promotion Agreement
The landowner and Value My Land agree responsibilities, protections, funding, decision-making, fee, marketing and sale provisions.
Consultant Team
We appoint, brief and coordinate the planning, technical, design, valuation and legal expertise needed for the agreed strategy.
Planning Promotion
We prepare submissions, evidence and representations and engage with the council and other bodies throughout the relevant process.
Planning Outcome
The strategy seeks an allocation, planning permission or another agreed outcome that creates a deliverable development opportunity.
Competitive Marketing
The land and planning information are presented to suitable developers and offers are compared on price, certainty and deliverability.
Sale and Completion
The selected transaction completes, the landowner receives the net sale proceeds and our agreed fee and costs are settled under the agreement.
Stage 1
The Free Initial Land Review
The first assessment is intended to identify the principal opportunity and risks without requiring the landowner to commission a full technical package.
A postcode, map pin, what3words reference or plan showing the approximate boundary is normally enough to begin. We use this to identify the local planning authority, adopted and emerging Local Plans, settlement boundaries, relevant designations, planning history, nearby development and readily available environmental information.
We consider whether the land relates well to a town or village, whether safe access may be achievable and whether flood risk, landscape, ecology, heritage, utilities or ownership issues are immediately apparent. This is an initial screening rather than a substitute for later specialist surveys.
The review also considers timing. An authority beginning a Local Plan, running a Call for Sites or unable to rely on existing housing delivery may create a different opportunity from an area with a recently adopted plan and no identified need for further land. The same physical site can therefore have different prospects at different times.
We explain the initial conclusion in practical terms. The response may identify an immediate application route, recommend Local Plan monitoring or promotion, request more information or explain why the site does not presently justify further expenditure. There is no obligation to proceed.
Helpful Information
Stage 2
Developing the Planning and Promotion Strategy
Where the initial review is positive, the next step is to define what outcome is being pursued, how it may be achieved and which risks need early investigation.
The strategy starts with the planning route. A smaller, well-located site may justify an early planning application. A larger or policy-constrained ownership may require a Call for Sites submission, HELAA or SHLAA assessment and sustained Local Plan representations before an application is realistic. Some sites can pursue more than one route in parallel.
We identify the evidence likely to be most influential. Safe access may be the first issue on one site, while landscape, flood risk, ecology, heritage, utilities or viability may determine another. Early work is prioritised so that a fundamental constraint is not discovered only after substantial expenditure has been incurred elsewhere.
An initial development concept can help test capacity and relationships. It shows how access, housing or employment areas, drainage, open space, buffers and infrastructure might fit within the land. The concept evolves as surveys and policy evidence become available; it is not a fixed layout imposed before the site is understood.
The broad programme and budget are then considered. Planning processes remain uncertain and can be affected by council timetables, consultation, technical seasons, political decisions and appeals. A sensible strategy includes milestones and alternative routes rather than depending on one date or assumption.
Immediate Application
Appropriate where policy and technical circumstances provide a credible basis for seeking permission without waiting for a new allocation.
Call for Sites
Introduces the land to the authority when it is inviting potential development locations and building its evidence base.
Local Plan Promotion
Seeks policy support through representations, technical evidence and engagement as the authority prepares and examines its plan.
Combined Strategy
Uses monitoring, plan promotion and application work together where circumstances justify more than one route.
Stage 3
The Promotion Agreement and Landowner Protections
The agreement turns the proposed strategy into a clear legal and commercial framework before Value My Land begins funding substantial work.
The landowner retains ownership throughout the promotion period. The agreement gives Value My Land the rights needed to investigate and promote the land while protecting the owner’s title and defining the circumstances in which the property can be marketed and sold.
The document normally records the promotion objectives, term, extension events, decision-making process, consultant expenditure, planning applications, appeals, reporting, access, insurance, termination and treatment of confidential information. It also explains how sale decisions will be made and how disputes are resolved.
Commercial provisions include the promotion fee, recoverable costs, treatment of interest where applicable, minimum price or landowner protections, marketing procedure and calculation of net sale proceeds. The landowner should use an independent solicitor with development-land experience and obtain their own tax advice.
The agreement is not intended to remove the landowner from the process. Important submissions, material strategy changes, sales particulars and offers are handled in accordance with the agreed approval and consultation provisions. Clear documentation helps both parties understand their responsibilities over a potentially lengthy planning period.
The Agreement Should Explain
Stage 4
How We Fund and Manage the Promotion Process
Under our usual model, Value My Land carries the agreed planning expenditure and coordinates the work needed to pursue the approved strategy.
We appoint consultants whose skills match the site and planning route. The team may include planning, highways, drainage, ecology, landscape, heritage, utilities, ground, viability, design and legal specialists. Not every discipline is needed at the beginning and expenditure is staged to reflect risk and decision points.
Value My Land prepares briefs, reviews proposals, coordinates information and keeps the work focused on the planning objective. Technical studies must support one another: the access design affects the masterplan; the masterplan affects drainage and ecology; development capacity affects viability and land value.
We fund the agreed consultant, planning and promotion costs at our own cost and risk. The landowner does not pay those costs upfront under the usual promotion model. The agreement specifies which expenditure is recoverable from a successful sale and how budgets and reports are managed.
Carrying the expenditure risk aligns our interest with achieving a successful and valuable outcome. It does not make planning permission certain. Survey findings, policy changes or council decisions may show that a strategy should be changed, paused or discontinued. Those decisions are discussed within the framework of the agreement.
Planning and Policy
Local Plan monitoring, representations, applications, statements, negotiation and appeal advice where appropriate.
Access and Transport
Access feasibility, visibility, traffic, pedestrian and cycle connections and off-site highway requirements.
Environment and Design
Flooding, drainage, ecology, landscape, heritage, trees, ground conditions, masterplanning and mitigation.
Delivery and Value
Utilities, infrastructure, viability, planning obligations, market evidence, sales preparation and developer engagement.
The landowner does not need to commission every report before contacting us. Early expenditure should answer the questions most likely to determine whether the opportunity can proceed.
Stage 5
Promoting Land Through the Local Plan Process
Strategic land often needs sustained engagement while the council decides how much growth is required, where it should be located and which sites are deliverable.
A Call for Sites submission normally identifies the boundary, proposed use, capacity, ownership, availability and initial constraints. It allows the council to assess the land within its HELAA or SHLAA evidence. A positive assessment can be helpful, but it does not itself allocate the site or grant planning permission.
As the Local Plan progresses, the council consults on strategy, settlement options, draft policies and preferred allocations. We prepare representations explaining why the land is suitable, available and achievable and how it compares with other options. Technical evidence is added where it addresses matters raised by the authority.
Promotion may also involve discussions with infrastructure providers, neighbouring owners, parish or town councils and other stakeholders. The objective is not simply to assert that the land should be developed, but to present a credible form of development that responds to access, landscape, drainage, ecology and community requirements.
Plans can change direction, be delayed or require further evidence. We monitor the programme, consultation dates and emerging documents and adapt the strategy where necessary. Where a site is rejected, the reasons are reviewed and representations can explain why the assessment should be reconsidered.
Land Submission
Introduce the site with clear ownership, availability, capacity and initial planning information.
Evidence Assessment
Respond to HELAA, sustainability, Green Belt, landscape, transport and infrastructure findings.
Plan Representations
Support the preferred strategy and challenge unsupported rejection or inappropriate competing assumptions.
Examination and Adoption
Address soundness, legal compliance and delivery matters as the plan moves towards formal adoption.
Stage 6
Preparing and Managing a Planning Application
Where an application is appropriate, the evidence and design must establish the principle, capacity, access, effects, mitigation and deliverability of the proposed development.
The application route may be outline, full, Permission in Principle or another procedure depending on the site and objective. Strategic land commonly uses an outline application to establish the principle and main parameters while reserving detailed matters for later approval.
The masterplan and technical reports are coordinated so the proposed development is internally consistent. Housing numbers must match the net developable area; access and visibility must fit the boundary; drainage and biodiversity need sufficient land; landscape and heritage mitigation must be reflected in the layout.
After submission, the planning authority consults statutory bodies, internal officers, neighbours and other interested parties. We coordinate responses, consider requests for further information and negotiate amendments where they improve the prospect of permission without unnecessarily reducing value or deliverability.
A committee refusal or non-determination may create an appeal option, but an appeal is not automatic. The reasons, evidence, costs, timetable and wider strategy must be assessed. In some cases a revised application, further Local Plan promotion or a pause for policy change is more appropriate.
Application Work May Include
Stage 7
Planning Success Must Be Converted Into a Saleable Opportunity
An allocation or permission can increase value, but purchasers still need clarity on conditions, obligations, infrastructure, title and the practical route to implementation.
Following permission, the decision notice, approved plans, conditions, Section 106 agreement, CIL position and technical reports are reviewed as a complete package. A consent with unresolved pre-commencement conditions, uncertain drainage, title dependencies or major infrastructure can attract a different price from a readily implementable permission.
The sale material should explain the development capacity, planning history, obligations, surveys, ownership and access clearly. A structured information room allows potential purchasers to complete due diligence and price the land on a consistent basis. Missing or contradictory information can reduce competition or create late renegotiation.
Value My Land works with appropriate agents and advisers to expose the opportunity to suitable housebuilders or commercial developers. The process may involve an informal tender, best-and-final offers or another competitive method. Offers are compared on more than price: funding, conditions, deposit, timetable and deliverability matter.
The highest headline figure is not always the strongest offer. A lower but unconditional and fully funded bid may produce a better outcome than a larger figure subject to extensive retrading rights. The landowner receives advice and retains the approvals provided by the promotion agreement before a purchaser is selected.
Planning Package
Decision notice, approved plans, conditions, obligations, CIL and supporting reports should be complete and consistent.
Sale Information
Title, boundaries, access, surveys, utilities, tenancy and planning information are organised for purchaser due diligence.
Developer Competition
Suitable purchasers are invited to assess the opportunity and submit clear, comparable offers.
Offer Assessment
Price is considered alongside conditions, funding, deposit, programme, retrading risk and certainty of completion.
Costs, Risk and Payment
How the Financial Model Aligns Our Interests
Our usual promotion model is designed so both the landowner and Value My Land benefit from maximising the successful sale proceeds rather than completing at the lowest possible acquisition price.
Value My Land funds the agreed planning and promotion expenditure at its own cost and risk. The landowner therefore does not need to finance consultant appointments, Local Plan representations or planning applications upfront under the usual model. This can allow a credible strategy to proceed without exposing the owner to substantial speculative expenditure.
The promotion agreement identifies the costs recoverable from a successful sale and the promoter’s agreed fee, normally expressed by reference to the sale proceeds. Budgets, approvals and reporting provisions allow the landowner to understand the work being undertaken and the way the eventual net receipt will be calculated.
If the agreed promotion does not achieve the required outcome, the planning expenditure risk is carried by Value My Land rather than being invoiced to the landowner. The agreement explains what happens to reports, applications and rights when the term ends or the strategy is discontinued.
Payment is linked to the completed sale. The purchaser pays the price through the conveyancing process, agreed costs and the promotion fee are settled under the contract and the landowner receives the resulting net proceeds. The landowner should take independent legal, valuation and tax advice on the agreement and sale.
Under the Usual Model
The precise commercial terms are site-specific and must be set out in the signed promotion agreement. The website explanation is a general summary rather than legal, valuation or tax advice.
The Landowner’s Role
You Retain Ownership and Remain Involved in Key Decisions
Promotion transfers the work and agreed financial risk, not the landowner’s underlying ownership or the need for clear communication and approvals.
The landowner provides accurate information about ownership, access, occupation, covenants, mortgages, prior agreements and known site issues. This allows the strategy and legal documentation to be based on the true position and reduces the risk of late title or possession problems.
Current farming, grazing, commercial or other use can often continue while the land is promoted, subject to survey access and the agreement. Longer-term tenancies, new buildings, sales or rights should be discussed because they may affect availability, vacant possession, planning evidence or the eventual transaction.
The agreement establishes which decisions require consent or consultation. These can include major changes to the planning objective, applications, appeals, material expenditure, sales particulars, minimum price protections, purchaser selection and completion terms. Day-to-day consultant coordination remains with Value My Land.
The landowner appoints their own solicitor and should obtain tax and valuation advice when appropriate. Independent advice protects the owner and helps ensure the promotion agreement, planning outcome and sale structure reflect their personal, family, business and succession circumstances.
Timescale and Uncertainty
Planning Promotion Can Be Long Term, but It Should Remain Purposeful
The programme depends on the site, route, council, technical evidence and market. Clear milestones and regular review help keep the strategy focused.
A straightforward application can still take longer than the statutory determination period once pre-application work, surveys, validation, consultation, negotiation, committee dates and legal obligations are included. Seasonal ecology surveys, drainage investigations or highway modelling can extend preparation before submission.
Local Plan promotion normally operates over a longer period because the council controls the timetable. Evidence gathering, consultations, preferred options, publication, examination and adoption can span several years. Plans can be delayed, withdrawn or altered following changes in housing need, national policy, infrastructure or political priorities.
The agreement therefore needs a realistic term and defined extension events. Progress should be reviewed against plan stages, application milestones, technical findings and expenditure. Where the original route becomes unsuitable, the parties can consider whether an alternative application, revised use, combined site or later policy window offers a better prospect.
No promoter can guarantee an allocation or permission. The value of a managed process is that planning and technical evidence are coordinated, deadlines are monitored and decisions are made on the basis of the best information available. It also prevents the landowner from having to manage a large professional team personally.
Timescale May Be Influenced By
Alternative Routes
How Promotion Differs From an Immediate Sale or Option
Landowners should understand the principal commercial routes before deciding how much planning risk, control and future value to transfer.
Immediate Sale
Provides an earlier and more certain transaction but the purchaser may capture much of the value created by later planning success.
Conditional Contract
Commits the sale if an agreed condition is satisfied, with the contract regulating the planning process and acceptable outcome.
Option Agreement
Gives the developer a right to purchase during the option period, commonly after it investigates or promotes the site.
Promotion Agreement
Requires the promoter to pursue an agreed planning strategy and normally market the land, aligning the fee with sale proceeds.
No route is automatically best. An immediate sale may suit a landowner who prioritises certainty and timing. A conditional contract can work where the parties have agreed the buyer and planning objective. An option may suit a developer-led scheme but requires strong valuation, minimum-price and progress protections. Promotion can be attractive where competitive marketing and aligned value incentives are priorities.
Value My Land explains its proposed model before any agreement is signed, but the landowner should use independent advisers to compare alternatives. Read our Promotion Agreement vs Option Agreement guide and Selling Land for Development guide for further information.
Start With the Site
You Do Not Need a Complete Planning File to Contact Us
The first step is simply to identify the land clearly enough for an initial review of the planning authority, policy position and visible site characteristics.
We will explain whether the land appears worth further investigation and what information would be most useful next. Some sites can progress quickly; others need monitoring until a Call for Sites or Local Plan stage creates a realistic opportunity.
Contact does not require you to stop the current use, instruct consultants, agree a sale or enter into a promotion agreement. The review is free and without obligation. Where the opportunity is not suitable for us, we will not recommend a funded promotion simply to tie up the land.
Where the site is suitable and the parties decide to proceed, the legal and commercial terms are considered before substantial work begins. This provides a clear basis for funding, planning, reporting, marketing and the eventual sale.
Continue Your Research
Related Guides
These guides explain the planning, valuation, technical and contractual subjects that sit alongside this page without duplicating its main purpose.
Land Wanted for Development
See the types of agricultural, brownfield, settlement-edge, commercial and mixed-use land we review.
Click hereWhat Is Land Promotion?
Understand the purpose of land promotion and how planning work can create a more valuable, saleable opportunity.
Click hereLand Promotion Agreements
Review the responsibilities, funding, fees, planning strategy, marketing and landowner protections within an agreement.
Click herePromotion Agreement vs Option Agreement
Compare the incentives, control, valuation and planning-risk position under the two structures.
Click hereIs My Land Suitable for Development?
Assess location, planning policy, access, constraints, infrastructure, availability and achievability.
Click hereCall for Sites Guide
Find out how land is submitted and considered when councils seek potential development locations.
Click hereLocal Plan Allocation Guide
Learn how sites are assessed, compared, promoted and selected through the Local Plan process.
Click hereTypes of Planning Applications
Compare outline, full, reserved matters, Permission in Principle and other application routes.
Click hereSelling Land for Development
Understand preparation, valuation, marketing, offer assessment, legal due diligence and completion.
Click hereFrequently Asked Questions About Working With Value My Land
Is the initial land review free?
Yes. The initial review is free and without obligation. We use the location and available planning information to identify the authority, policy position, settlement relationship and principal visible constraints.
More detailed surveys are only considered where the first assessment shows that further work may be justified.
What information do you need to begin?
A postcode, Google Maps pin, what3words reference or plan showing the approximate boundary is normally enough. An estimated area and current use are helpful.
Title plans, planning history, access information, surveys or approach letters can be provided where available but are not essential for the initial review.
Does my land need an allocation or planning permission?
No. We review land with and without planning status. Some sites may support an application, while others need a Call for Sites submission, HELAA or SHLAA assessment or Local Plan promotion.
The review identifies the most credible route based on current policy and site circumstances.
Who pays the planning and consultant costs?
Under our usual promotion model, Value My Land funds and manages the agreed planning, consultant and promotion work at its own cost and risk. The landowner does not pay those costs upfront.
The promotion agreement identifies approved expenditure, reporting, recoverable costs and how they are treated following a successful sale.
Do I retain ownership of the land?
Yes. The landowner retains ownership during the promotion period. The agreement grants the rights needed to investigate and promote the site but does not transfer the freehold.
Ownership changes only through the eventual sale or another transaction expressly agreed by the landowner.
How is Value My Land paid?
Our agreed fee is documented in the promotion agreement and is paid from the sale proceeds following a successful planning and sale outcome. Recoverable promotion costs are also treated in accordance with the agreement.
The landowner receives the resulting net balance through the conveyancing process.
What happens if planning promotion is unsuccessful?
Under the usual funded model, Value My Land carries the agreed planning expenditure risk rather than invoicing those costs to the landowner. The agreement explains what happens to reports, applications and rights when the promotion ends.
Planning cannot be guaranteed, and a strategy may be changed or discontinued where evidence shows that continuing is not justified.
Who chooses and manages the consultants?
Value My Land appoints and coordinates the consultant team needed for the agreed strategy. This may include planning, highways, drainage, ecology, landscape, heritage, utilities, ground, design and viability specialists.
Expenditure and material decisions are handled under the approval and reporting provisions in the promotion agreement.
Will I be consulted about the planning application?
Yes. The promotion agreement establishes how the landowner is consulted and which decisions require approval. Value My Land manages the day-to-day technical and planning work, while major strategy changes, applications or sales decisions are dealt with as agreed.
Clear communication is important throughout a potentially lengthy process.
How long does land promotion take?
The timescale depends on the route. An application can take many months once preparation, surveys, determination and legal obligations are included. Local Plan promotion can take several years because the council controls the programme.
The agreement should include a realistic term, extension events and progress milestones rather than promising a fixed result date.
Can I continue farming or using the land?
Often yes. The present use can normally continue while promotion proceeds, subject to survey access and any restrictions needed to preserve availability.
New tenancies, buildings, sales, rights or other changes should be discussed because they may affect planning, vacant possession or the eventual transaction.
How is the land sold after planning success?
The planning and technical information is organised and the land is marketed to suitable developers, commonly through a competitive process. Offers are compared on price, funding, conditions, timetable and certainty.
The landowner participates in the selection and approval process in accordance with the promotion agreement.
Do I need my own solicitor and tax adviser?
Yes. The landowner should appoint an independent solicitor experienced in development land before signing a promotion agreement or sale contract. Independent tax advice is also important because ownership and transaction structures have different consequences.
Value My Land manages the promotion but does not replace the landowner’s legal, valuation or tax advisers.
Can land in several ownerships be promoted?
Yes, where the owners can cooperate and the combined site is more suitable or deliverable. A collaboration or equalisation agreement may be required to allocate costs, decisions and proceeds fairly between parcels.
Access, infrastructure and development value do not always fall evenly across each ownership.
How do I start the process?
Send the location through the contact form using a postcode, map pin, what3words reference or plan. Briefly explain the current use, approximate area and any known planning history or approach.
We will carry out the initial review and explain whether the site appears worth further discussion and what the next step may be.