We help navigate house builders, developers, institutions and private individuals through the often complex land promotion process, providing tailored advice depending on your prior experience of the plan making system.

For those individuals less familiar with the process, developing large sites (referred to as Major or Strategic sites by planners), for either residential or employment uses normally requires the land to be allocated for that purpose in the Development Plan (or Local Plan). Normally, the increase in value of the land is substantial, and can be life changing for the land owner and their family.
The Land Promotion process, by which an area of land is allocated as a proposal site in those plans, can take years of complex preparation, promotions, and representation through the various stages of consultation and public examination.
At ET Planning, we have the in house experience and expertise to help guide and steer you through this process. We have research and intelligence led Land Promotion expertise, and have key contacts within Local Authorities throughout the South East, London and the Midlands. We will advise you on an engagement strategy with key Members, who will having influence over the plan making process.
If you are a private individual wishing to promote a site – we can either take you the full way through the process, or provide you with a developer introduction from our extensive list of contacts.
We can also provide an Estate Development Strategy, to deliver a series of smaller developments over a short timeframe to help release cash profits out of the land asset early, to assist with the funding of the land promotion program.
The steps normally involved through a land promotion program include:
- Land Appraisals – to check the suitability for Land Promotions;
- Planning Strategy – to determine the best approach to securing a development. For example, this may include a twin track approach of submitting a planning application alongside progressing site promotions;
- Estate Development Strategies – to provide short, medium and long term strategy for the site to realise cash funds from land based assets early (if the entire site is not being promoted);
- Advice on Concept Design and Masterplanning – working alongside urban designers or architects to help steer the design process and produce a Vision Document, to help understand what could be achieved and sell the value of the site to the local authority;
- Viability and Cost Testing – to understand the Gross Developable Value, potential Profits, and help demonstrate the viability of the development to the local authority;
- Developer Introductions – helping you find partners to deliver the vision and share the cost of getting there;
- Gathering the Evidence – preparing technical evidence to demonstrate that the site is suitable, viable and deliverable (which is a key factor in getting sites allocated;
- Engagement Strategy – we can help to provide a strategy for consulting with the Local Authority, stakeholders, the local community and local politicians seeking support for your proposals;
- Call For Sites submissions to Local Authority Local Plan Reviews – formally presenting your site to the Local Authority in the form of a valid and robust submission;
- Draft Local Plan Consultation responses (Regulations 18 and 19) – to promote the merits of your site over other responses, and to challenge the evidence base of the Local Authority where necessary;
- Hearing Statement for the Examination in Public (EiP) – responding to the Inspectors matters, issues and questions to enable a focused discussion at the EiP;
- Professional Witness representation at Examination in Public (EiP) – to present evidence in from of a Local Plan Inspector, to promote your interests, whether your site is a proposed allocation, or an omission site, and comment on the soundness and legal compliance of the draft Local Plan;
- Post EiP representations and Consultation Responses – there is often the need for modifications to a Local Plan before it can be adopted (referred to as ‘Main Modifications’), enabling further targeted representations to be made to further promote the site. We would provide detailed advice once the Inspectors Report is published.
We also provide advice about the proposed changes to the planning system which are currently being consulted on as part of the Government’s White Paper “Planning for the Future” (August 2020), which potentially has future implications on the land promotion process.
Tailored towards housebuilders and developers, we also offer a Site Identification service. Using our in-house expertise, research capabilities and local knowledge, we can provide the following packages:
- Phase 1: Identifying broad search locations, providing information about high level constraints and Local Authority intelligence;
- Phase 2: Detailed settlement studies identifying the best sites in given locations that can accommodate growth, or customised towards your niche target sites (size/use/GDV).
Once you’ve got your site allocated into the Local Plan, ET Planning also has the relevant experience and expertise to make the appropriate planning application submissions to secure the final planning approvals.
If you’d like to learn more about the ET Planning Land Promotion services, or the Estate Development Strategies we offer, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our service lead in this area, David Wetherill on 01344 508048.
Knowing that you’re doing the right thing, to deliver a life changing legacy to your family or business, can help you realise the true value of your land asset and offer you peace of mind about the future.