Plot watch

When a plot acts as a car park to local commuters, is there really potential to build the home Ben and Nas are dreaming of?

Mike Dade assesses a site’s potential

WHO Ben & Nas King WHAT A town centre plot WHERE Suffolk

Ben and Nas King have been looking to self build in their local town for some time. However, land suitable for a contemporary, urban design has been proving hard to find. Nas has come across an empty plot that appears to serve as an occasional private car park. It’s ideally located, close to the town centre −

could this be a possibility?

The plot

The space sits just behind a main shopping street in the town centre. When Nas first saw it, during the weekend, it was an empty space. The same was true when Ben scoped it out on his way to work. But during core hours, it usually has a handful of cars parked on it. It fronts onto a mainly residential street, although there’s currently no direct entry point. That said, there’s no clear reason why access couldn’t be brought there. At the moment, those determined commuters drive onto the site via a rather tortuous route leading around the back. There’s a small public car park on one side of the plot and a tall wall along the other. Temporary fencing separates it from the street. To the rear it gives way to some yard areas at the back of shops and houses. Just opposite, across the road, are some low-rise flats. There are some trees at both the front and back of the plot and a grassy area along the wall boundary. Most of the plot has a hard surface, hence the parking appeal. It measures about 30m deep and 15m wide, so a reasonable size for a detached dwelling.

First steps

Before jumping in, Ben and Nas need to find out whether planning permission for a house might be possible, as well as who currently owns the land and whether they would even be prepared to sell. There’s no set order for this process. The best bet for these types of situations is to look to pursue the quickest or cheapest routes to gaining answers first, and then see what that reveals.

Planning records

A good starting point here would be for Ben and Nas to look up their council’s online planning records to check whether there’s been any history. I had a quick scan on their behalf, and in the absence of an obvious address, use the local authority’s mapping system to see if any proposals have been made. This reveals that there’s been nothing recently, but it would be worthwhile for Ben and Nas to investigate this further as the mapping system only shows records for the last few years. If any applications do come to light, they’re likely to prove revealing in terms

of what was applied for and how it fared. This will also provide information on who owned the plot at the time of the submission, and their all important contact details.

Policy and potential

This piece of land looks like an ideal building plot but for one complication: car parking. The fact that a handful of vehicles park on it during the day could prove troublesome in a town centre location where this service is likely to be at a premium. That said, it doesn’t necessarily follow that the parking use has the benefit of planning permission. If it hasn’t got this, the council would be unlikely to insist the use is retained. Equally, some local authorities have policies that seek to actively discourage cars from town centre locations, usually for congestion reasons, so that could work in Ben and Nas’s favour.

The plot fronts onto a largely residential street, so domestic use should be completely acceptable, in principle. However, there are flats opposite so one possible issue would be whether putting one house on the land would be considered making efficient use of the space, if there was potential to get multiple smaller units on it. A likely constraint for this type of development would be the trees, particularly the larger ones towards the back. They could reduce the buildable area such that a single unit might be the most that could reasonably be achieved.

The details

Apart from the trees already mentioned, the plot has few obvious restrictions. It has other buildings to the rear, but at a reasonable distance, so overlooking and the neighbours’ light and privacy shouldn’t be issues. Access is available direct to the street, and there’s the existing entrance to the rear that might be a possibility as well.

A key issue for Ben and Nas will be the design of the house. They’re looking for something contemporary. There are a few examples of modern designs locally, but no prevailing architectural style. Elsewhere in town, there are instances of contemporary schemes sitting alongside more traditional homes. It ought to be possible to create something that would be acceptable to the council with a high quality proposal. Opinions on design are subjective, though, and each planning officer will have likes and dislikes. If Ben and Nas get to the point of taking a scheme forward on this plot, then preapplication discussion with the council in advance of a formal application should flush out any potential issues with the project.

Drainage and services are things that need to be thought about at an early stage. A site like this in a central location is likely to have ready access to a public sewer and all main services. It’s also possible that such facilities could run under the plot, constraining development. It’s not top of the list of things to investigate, but it certainly shouldn’t be overlooked.

Taking action

If the planning records don’t reveal the owners, the simple expedient of putting a note on the windows of cars parked on the plot could prove productive. Also asking the occupants of some of the properties backing on to the land is worth a try. If no one knows the neighbours, they could apply to the Land Registry for a copy of the title deeds and plan, for a small sum of money. This can be done online, and there’s a map search facility for sites without an obvious address. The deeds wouldn’t only reveal the owners, assuming the title is registered, but would also show up any rights of access to or over the plot, plus any restrictive covenants.

Assuming Ben and Nas can locate the owners, the next step would be to approach them to see if they’d be interested in selling. This should emphasise that they are serious buyers. It shows that they have the funds available to make a realistic offer and legal representation in place to actually make the purchase. If the owners are interested, there should then be a discussion about price and planning. The couple would need to ensure that they will get the planning permission they want along the way. This style of approach should be viewed as a long shot, but if you don’t ask, you don’t get.

Conclusions

This type of speculative approach to plot finding can be worthwhile as long as you’re pragmatic about how slim the chances of success are, and also realistic about what you might expect to pay for a plot. Ben and Nas view this as something they can check out easily and with little cost, but they also recognise that they’ll need to pay a sensible price if they’re to succeed in buying. With that attitude, they might just get lucky.