Green Plots to Plots of Gold

A new site in Dacorum Borough, north of Berkhamsted, is offering plots of land for sale. But anyone thinking of buying these plots should beware.

The price of land rises massively when the owner of that land gains planning permission for building houses. There is a concern that more of the increase should be collected for the community. Still, as that increase may be as much as 192 times the original price for agricultural use, fortunes can be made.

Not all land is set aside for development. Since the middle of the last century National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Sites of Special Scientific Interest have all been strongly protected from development. Green Belts, of which the first was the Metropolitan Green Belt that surrounds London and covers much of Hertfordshire, are also protected albeit to a lesser extent.

With the increasing population and demographic change, local authorities are permitted to propose changes to Green Belt boundaries. They must do this as part of their Local Plans. These cover the need for additional housing and associated infrastructure for a period of 15 – 20 years.

Several years ago we at CPRE Hertfordshire learned about what we call “plot lands”. These are created by the land owner and are plots of land that are about 1/6th of an acre, enough on which to build at least one house. Individual plots are then advertised for sale, including internationally, with the sales message focusing on the finite amount of land and the huge increase in value when planning permission is given.

Our understanding is that none of these plot lands have been included in a Local Plan. This is despite one of the early stages of Plan preparation being the local authority inviting land owners to put forward land for inclusion.

In another stage of the Local Plan process, the offered land is considered for suitability and is subject to public consultation. There is nothing automatic about this. So we have to conclude that the local authorities have excluded these plot lands.

We thought that plot lands were a thing of the past. So we were surprised and disappointed that a new plot lands site has come to our notice at Church Road, Little Gaddesden, in Dacorum Borough, a bit north of Berkhamsted.

The site is within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. As noted already, AONBs have strong protection from development. We think therefore that the chance of obtaining planning permission for these sites is remote, to say the least.

Dacorum Borough Council has instructed the land owner that no posts, fences or other barriers may be erected on the site without the specific permission of the Borough Council. We take this to indicate that the Council is less than pleased with the land owner.

To summarise, land shoots up in value when planning permission is granted. But not all land will get that permission. So if anyone is thinking about buying one of these plots, we suggest that they take care. Not all green plots will turn into plots of gold.