2025
Self-Promotion
For landowners with funds available and with an appetite for risk, self-promotion is a viable route. This involves hiring a planning consultant to spearhead the process of promoting their land for development. While they will bear the costs (which are significant), they retain full control over the journey, and it can be incredibly rewarding.
Strategic Development Agreements
Many landowners opt for Strategic Development Agreements, which come in three forms: Option Agreements, Promotion Agreements and Hybrid Agreements.
• Option Agreement: with this option, a housebuilder promotes the land and incurs the costs for doing so at their risk. Upon a planning permission being obtained the housebuilder purchases the land at a discount of Market Value.
• Promotion Agreement: in this scenario, a promoter works to obtain planning permission on the land. At the point of obtaining a satisfactory planning permission, the site is marketed, and the Promoter receives a percentage of the sale proceeds on completion of a sale.
• Hybrid Agreement: a combination of both an Option and Promotion Agreement which tends to be a viable option with larger sites. These options allow them to leverage the expertise of professionals while mitigating financial risk. They would not incur the cost of promoting the land, but they still stand to gain if the project moves forward.
Freehold Disposal
An alternative strategy is to dispose of the freehold interest. This often includes an
Navigating development potential
What options are available for landowners?
Landowners with property with development potential know that securing planning permission can enhance the land value. But how do they turn that potential into reality? We caught up with Matthew Handford, Senior Associate in our development agency team, to break down the options for obtaining planning permission, each with its own set of advantages and challenges.
overage provision, where the landowner retains a percentage of the value increase once a planning permission is secured. While this provides immediate financial return, it might not maximise long-term return from the asset, as the uplift in value will be crystalised once a planning permission is obtained. However, the opportunity to obtain upfront capital can be compelling.
Why do landowners choose freehold disposal?
Many landowners find freehold disposal suits their needs perfectly. Here are a few recent examples:
• The Firs, Newbold Verdon, Leicestershire: A bungalow and 6.5 acres of pastureland sold in May 2024.
• Land at Chasetown, Staffordshire: 22 acres of pastureland sold in May 2024.
• Land at Codsall, Staffordshire: 14 acres of pastureland sold under a Promotion Agreement in September 2024.
Other sales are ongoing in Barrow upon Trent and Littleover, Derbyshire. The reasons for these decisions vary, but common themes include frustration with planning timelines, a desire for quick capital returns, and strategies to reduce future tax liabilities.
Market Trends and Tax Changes
Changes to major planning laws and rising taxes are pushing more landowners to explore the route of disposing their freehold interest prior to obtaining a planning permission. This trend is likely to grow due to the rise in Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and the looming cut to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) on inheritance tax in April 2026.
From April 2026, agricultural property relief and
business property relief will only be available on the first £1,000,000 of qualifying assets. Qualifying assets exceeding this limit will be eligible for a 50% relief. Inheritance Tax will then be charged at 40% of the remaining taxable estate.
According to independent analysis from Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), “Inheritance tax changes to affect more than 75% of English and Scottish farms of 50 hectares in size or more.”
Tim Bradshaw, President of the NFU, has been quoted stating the following, “The fact that the government’s own levy board has now come to the same conclusion as the NFU, that 75% of commercial farm businesses could be affected by this policy – more than 42,000 farms”. It could not be clearer that the data behind this abhorrent family farm tax is wrong, and that the Treasury has drastically underestimated the scale of the impact on British farming and food.”
Previously, landowners benefited from 100% relief on qualifying agricultural property assets. Given the proposed changes to Inheritance Tax on Agricultural Property, some landowners may now take the decision to dispose of land which benefits from strategic development potential to reduce the tax burden on the next generation.
What are the next steps?
Owning land with development potential means understanding all the options and aligning them with their long-term goals. Whether they prefer to manage the promotion themselves, enter into a strategic agreement, or sell outright, there is a solution to fit their needs. Their decision will hinge on their risk tolerance, timeline, and financial objectives. At Fisher German, our team of experts are here to help them navigate the process and make the best choice.
Housing hurdles ahead An insight on planning reforms and market Shifts
Angela Brooks, a planning partner at the firm, foresees a substantial increase in planning applications over the next 12 to 18 months, and says that while she expects this to result in more appeals due to local resistance to the government’s ambitious housing targets, we will ultimately see a vast increase in the homes being delivered.
Angela Rayner first announced an overhaul of England’s planning system in July last year, with the Labour government later launching a revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) aiming to deliver 1.5 million new homes by 2029. There is noticeable lag between approvals and completions, and with only 236,000 homes approved in 2024, even meeting the previous government’s target of delivering 300,000 per year would appear impossible. In fact, annual delivery has not exceeded 250,000 homes this millennium. With many local authorities facing increased housing targets, we will see more land promotion than ever before, with Council’s needing to be receptive to sites they may have previously overlooked. Now is the time for landowners to act on these opportunities.
Changes to the NPPF include the restoration of the five-year housing land supply, reversing the previous governments four-year supply threshold for authorities where Plans were advanced to certain stage. Now authorities with a plan over 5 years old will need to use the new housing targets, leading many areas to face an immediate land supply shortfall, engaging the presumption in favour of development. Naturally in such scenarios, authorities will likely be flooded with speculative planning applications. Alongside, increased applications, the industry can expect to see a rise in planning appeals for housing schemes over the next 12 to 18 months. Planning is always an emotive topic, and applicants are likely to face a high volume of refusals, many of which will be followed by appeals.
We can also expect to see plenty of challenges to Green and Grey Belt schemes, as well as the ‘Golden Rules’ which require schemes to contribute to necessary infrastructure improvements, green spaces and, most notably, higher levels of affordable housing. These requirements are already leading to viability arguments, consuming valuable officer resource and lengthening decision-making. Whilst some authorities are already adapting to the changes and approving grey belt proposals, some local resistance remains. We will likely see increased government interventions to boost housing delivery, minimise costly appeal processes, and send a message to local authorities to approve schemes that will ultimately be allowed on appeal. An example of this occurred in November when the government called in an application for an 8,400-home scheme in Kent just hours before it was due to be heard at the planning committee, having been recommended for refusal.
Yorkshire: The Region of Growth
Yorkshire is emerging as a beacon of growth in the UK housing market, with Fisher German playing a pivotal role in connecting landowners, development land, and house builders across the region. Despite recent market challenges, the outlook for Yorkshire remains promising. We spoke with Senior Associate Phoebe Clark to gain insights into the current market conditions and uncover potential opportunities in this thriving region.
The UK housing market is showing signs of resilience, with Nationwide reporting a slight month-on-month increase in house prices, even though the annual growth rate slowed in January. Affordability continues to be a concern, especially with stamp duty thresholds set to revert to their original levels by April 2025. This shift is likely to drive buyers towards more affordable regions like Yorkshire.
In December 2024, cities such as Bradford, Barnsley, and Doncaster saw significant house price increases, making them some of the top performers in the UK. Bradford recorded a 13.1% rise, Barnsley 12.6%, and Doncaster 11.6%. This trend highlights the growing appeal of Yorkshire’s housing market.
Looking ahead, studies by UOWN, using data from ONS, Zoopla, and Rightmove, suggest that cities in the North of England, including Yorkshire, are set to outperform their southern counterparts over the next five years. House prices in the North are projected to rise by 5% in 2025, with an impressive 30% increase expected by 2030. This growth far surpasses the forecasts for the South.
Sheffield and Leeds, two major cities in Yorkshire, are leading the charge as growth hotspots in the North. Their robust housing markets and attractive living conditions make them prime locations for future development and investment.
