Is My Land Suitable for Development?

A site may occupy a sustainable location and benefit from a favourable planning position, but development is unlikely to proceed unless safe and suitable access can be achieved.

The access must normally serve residents, visitors, pedestrians, cyclists, emergency services, refuse collection vehicles and deliveries. The required design will depend on the number and type of homes or buildings proposed.

A small development may be capable of using an existing entrance or private drive. Larger housing or employment schemes will generally require a new junction, estate road, footway connections and sufficient capacity within the surrounding highway network.

Visibility is often one of the first matters considered. The site must normally provide adequate views along the road so drivers can enter and leave safely. The required visibility distance will depend on traffic speeds, road geometry and local highway standards.

Ownership is also important. The landowner must control the access or hold sufficient rights to use and improve it. An apparently suitable entrance may be unusable if the required visibility splays, widening or footway works extend across third-party land.

Access difficulties do not always prevent development. Junction design, speed reduction measures, road widening or an alternative access point may provide a solution. However, these matters should be investigated before development capacity or land value is assumed.

Flood risk is an important consideration because development should be directed away from areas at the greatest risk wherever reasonably possible. Councils consider flooding from rivers, surface water, groundwater, sewers and reservoirs.

Land within Flood Zone 1 is generally considered to have the lowest probability of river or sea flooding, but this does not mean the site is free from all drainage or surface water issues.

Where only part of a site is affected, development may be concentrated within the lower-risk area. Higher-risk land may be used for open space, landscaping, habitat creation or sustainable drainage, subject to technical assessment.

Development also increases impermeable surfaces and runoff. A drainage strategy must show how rainfall will be stored, treated and discharged without increasing flood risk elsewhere.

Sustainable drainage systems may include attenuation basins, ponds, swales, permeable paving and rain gardens. These features require space and should be incorporated into the masterplan from the outset.

Landscape considerations examine how development would affect the character, appearance and visual qualities of the site and surrounding area.

Land that is enclosed by existing development, vegetation or landform may be less visually sensitive than an exposed site on a prominent ridge or open countryside slope.

The relationship with the settlement edge is particularly important. Development should normally create a coherent and defensible boundary rather than appearing as an isolated or poorly related extension.

Landscape effects can often be reduced through appropriate setbacks, retention of vegetation, lower building heights, reduced density and new structural planting.

A Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment may be required for larger or more sensitive sites. This examines landscape character, viewpoints, visual receptors and the likely effects of development over time.

Development must be capable of obtaining the utilities and infrastructure needed to support future residents, businesses and community facilities.

Electricity, water, foul drainage, surface water drainage and digital connectivity are among the principal services considered. Larger developments may also require substantial highway, education, healthcare and public transport infrastructure.

The presence of a utility main near the site does not necessarily mean that capacity is available. Network operators may require reinforcement, upgrades or a connection from a more distant point.

Existing utility apparatus can also constrain the development layout. Overhead power lines, pipelines, sewers, substations and easements may require stand-off distances and permanent maintenance access.

Utility and infrastructure constraints do not always prevent development, but they can affect the developable area, delivery programme and residual land value.

Early utility searches and capacity enquiries can help determine whether services are likely to be available and whether abnormal infrastructure costs should be allowed for.

Development must generate sufficient value to meet the cost of buying the land, constructing the scheme, providing infrastructure, meeting planning obligations and allowing an appropriate return for risk.

A site can be suitable in planning terms but financially unachievable if abnormal costs are too high. These might include major highway works, utility reinforcement, remediation, flood mitigation or extensive retaining structures.

Affordable housing, biodiversity, education, healthcare, open space and other planning requirements can also affect viability. These obligations must be considered alongside construction and infrastructure costs.

Development capacity is important because the number and value of homes or amount of commercial floorspace determine the income available to support those costs.

A lower-density scheme may reduce planning and landscape effects but could also reduce the value available to fund infrastructure. The final development strategy must therefore balance planning acceptability and financial achievability.