Illustration of new housing development

Strategic land promotion

FAQs

See our comprehensive guide to the land promotion process here and if you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to contact us here >

What is land promotion?

Land promoters like Richborough deal directly with landowners to evaluate their sites, secure an outline planning application and then sell it on the open market to a housebuilder or developer.

Land promotion isn’t about construction – we don’t build anything ourselves – it’s about ensuring a solid supply of land for housebuilders or commercial developers.

Who are Richborough?

Richborough is a privately owned national land promotion company with its head office based in Birmingham. Richborough works in partnership with private landowners, councils, Trusts, Diocese, charities and other stakeholders to improve the value of their land assets.

How long has Richborough been operating?

Richborough was established in 2003 and since that time the business has continued to grow both in terms of headcount and the number and size of the sites that it promotes.

Why should I contract Richborough to promote my land?

The Richborough team has an enviable record in achieving planning permission in the shortest possible time. Our business model precludes us from very long-term promotion activity so we set about delivering a return on investment in the shortest possible time.

Richborough is a respected promoter and has worked successfully over a long period of time with the housebuilding and development community. Once a site is prepared and presented to the open market, a housebuilder or developer recognises the Richborough difference, both in terms of the quality and of the scheme and the due diligence it has undertaken in relation to technical matters which is expertly presented within the sales pack.

Richborough doesn’t see a return until the land is sold, which means that we’re aligned to the landowner’s objectives and fully motivated.

Will it cost me anything to achieve planning permission?

No. Richborough  is responsible for paying all legal fees to enter a Planning and Promotion Agreement with us and then all the costs associated with developing a residential or commercial scheme, planning application fee and further site investigation surveys required to support the sales process.

What areas does Richborough cover?

Our headquarters are in central Birmingham and we have offices in London and Bristol.  The team works on projects throughout England and Wales.

How many sites is Richborough actively engaged on?

The number varies, but we’re generally working on around 100 sites which are at various stages of the promotion lifecycle.

What is the typical size of a site promoted by Richborough?

The average size of a site is around 46 acres but we have promoted sites that have delivered around 40 units on approximately 4 acres so it rather depends upon the underlying land value and the nature of the scheme itself.

Where is Richborough based?

Our offices are located in central Birmingham, Bristol and London which means we’re perfectly placed to service projects throughout the country. We have an intimate knowledge of many Local Planning Authorities and our consultants are typically locally based and highly knowledgeable.

Why is land promotion important?

The UK’s planning policies can be somewhat tricky to navigate and requires taking a risk on the eventual outcome which is not guaranteed. Most of the large publically owner housebuilders rely on land promoters to deliver a significant proportion of their consented land to supplement their own promotion activities.

The Land Promoters and Developers Federation instructed planning experts Lichfields to determine the reach that landowners have in the residential land sector. They determined that land pormoters are responsible for approximately 50% of outline planning applications and deliver around 40% of all outline planning permissions at any one time.

How does a Land Promotion company work with housebuilders?

Richborough works very closely with housebuilders, as it’s vital that we understand market trends and what mix of homes would be be suitable for a particular area.

Most of the large publically owner house builders rely on land promoters to deliver a significant proportion of their consented land to supplement their own promotion activities.

Richborough develops lasting relationships with housebuilders and developers in order to deliver the right scheme for the landowner and the wider community.

How does a promoter make money from the sale of land?

If Richborough successfully delivers a planning permission in accordance with the Planning and Promotion Agreement then it is entitled to a percentage of net sales proceeds, which is agreed with the landowner at the commencement of the promotion process.

Do you build the houses yourselves?

Land promoters enable the development of new homes or commercial schemes, but we leave the actual bricks-and-mortar to the experts! However, we continue to work closely with the housebuilder or developer once a site is sold to them.

What happens if a house builder doesn't like the scheme and wants to change it?

Richborough employs and instructs third party experts to deliver the best possible scheme that enhances the chances of success whilst maintaining the highest possible land value.

Sometimes small compromises have to be made in order to increase the probability of success but Richborough’s outline planning schemes are invariably unaltered or change very subtly by the house builder at reserved matters stage.

What is Green Belt land?

The Town and Country Planning Act 1947 first allowed local authorities to include green belt proposals in their development plans, with the first Green Belt designations appearing during the 1950’s as a tool to control urban growth.

The Government attaches great importance to Green Belts; their fundamental aim being to prevent urban sprawl through their essential characteristics of openness and permanence.

Green Belts are a spatial planning tool and their designation is not necessarily linked to landscape value.

What's the difference between Green Belt and greenfield land?

Fundamentally, greenfield land represents a currently undeveloped, usually rural or semi-rural location in the open countryside such as an agricultural field. Unlike Green Belt, greenfield land has no special designation but may for example form part of a valued landscape or be associated with a heritage asset.

What is brownfield land?

Brownfield is a land type that has been previously developed. This is most often found around towns and cities and may well be former industrial or manufacturing sites.

Why not use existing brownfield sites instead of greenfield land?

Many acres of brownfield land are developed for housing every year. However, there simply aren’t enough brownfield sites available and suitable to satisfy many Councils’ annual housing requirements. Therefore, a supply of planning permissions from greenfield sites is inevitable in order to meet national housing targets.

There are some obvious challenges associated with brownfield sites which often render them financially nonviable, such as remediating contamination from the site’s former use and demolition which can be very costly if, for example, buildings contain hazardous material such as asbestos.