How should I go about building on an infill plot?

I’m in the fortunate position of having identified an infill plot within a family property. My intention is to obtain planning permission to build a small house. I’ve been advised of two different routes I could take, which has made coming to a decision a little tricky.

One option would be to perform all the checks on the site before getting involved with the design and planning phase to avoid wasting money should the plot have issues. Alternatively, I could go straight ahead with drawing up a scheme – as long as there aren’t any restrictive covenants – as the planners should pick up major problems anyway.

From experience, which would be the better route? If I was to go for the first and research the land, what kind of things should I be investigating?

ese two options are a little black and white. I’d recommend a middle ground approach, as follows. First, have a look at your council’s Local Plan to see if the plot is in an area where any restrictive policies apply that would obviously rule out building, or if there’s anything planned for the area you don’t like.

If there isn’t, prepare some sketch plans and photos of the site and seek pre-application advice. is shouldn’t cost you a lot and will not only reveal the council’s attitude to building on your land, but could also flush out some issues that might bear on whether you can develop the site and/or the cost of doing so.

Assuming all is well, next check with service providers that there aren’t any pipes, cables or similar under the plot. If there is any history of possible contamination, you’ll need to have this investigated as part of your planning application. If there could be protected species on site, anything of archaeological interest or if there are trees that could be affected, again, you’ll have to provide surveys as well. Get these done, then all that is left to do is to finalise the plans and make your application.