As a property or real estate lawyer, we know your clients rely on you to foresee risks before they become liabilities. Getting your due diligence right before acquiring a site is essential to understand the site’s development viability. That’s where Landmark and Argyll Environmental can help. With our recently remastered reports, we compile early insight through clever due diligence, which keeps your clients protected and strengthens your advice.
Having a search pack that includes the key risks, but crucially it is also compatible with a redevelopment context, means you can foresee issues before they materialise. This provides excellent client care that helps support your client’s decision-making during the property transaction.
What trends can we expect in 2026
Real estate continually adapts to changing macro trends that influence property needs. 2025 was undoubtedly all about the surge in demand for data centre space, driven by AI and cloud technology. In Savills UK cross-sector outlook for 2026, they state
“…that the biggest impacts of the data centre boom in the UK in 2026 will be in terms of land deals and competition for land. Logistics developers in particular are already being outbid for key data and power-enabled sites, and we expect this trend to continue for the foreseeable future.” Savills – Spotlight UK cross sector Outlook 2026
In addition, grey belt sites are emerging as prime opportunities. These locations, boasting strong transport links and clear local demand, are perfectly positioned to attract heightened interest from developers and investors alike.
At the same time, reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) are intended to improve site supply. As these changes bed in, we’re hoping to see greater land acquisition activity throughout 2026.
Taken together, this suggests a cautiously optimistic outlook for 2026, with the potential for steady growth in development deals across the real estate sector.
Building a search pack for development acquisitions
Many firms already have packs configured for the various transactions they handle. If not, a brief conversation highlighting the benefits we will discuss can help establish these packs in the future.
By adopting tailored reports for redevelopment transactions, clients receive outcomes that align precisely with their needs. Below are the reports we offer for redevelopment transactions and how each meets specific client requirements.
SiteSolutions Combined ensures environmental risks are fully understood and mitigated. The planning regime can significantly influence risk ratings and change outcomes and recommendations for key environmental risks when compared to a continued-use context.
Landmark Utilities prevents costly surprises by mapping underground services. When acquiring land for development, understanding what lies beneath the surface is critical. The report provides a single, comprehensive source of underground utility data, helping you make informed decisions.
SiteSolutions Highways secures clarity on access and rights-of-way obligations. This report addresses highways adoption status and rights of way, which are often overlooked but critical for site access and future use.
Why SiteSolutions Combined for development acquisitions
The SiteSolutions Combined is a great starting point to understand what key environmental hazards such as land contamination and flood hazards may be present at the site. It will help guide you to whether additional work will be required before you can start your construction.
Different assessment outcomes can arise between a ‘traditional’ environmental search: assessing historical land contamination issues under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act, and the National Planning Policy Framework. A change in context to a redevelopment scenario can be the difference between handing your client a pass or further action report. The benefit of having a planning risk assessment embedded in your environmental search is to help spot future requirements early in the decision-making process.
Here are some more benefits….
- Safeguarding investments – Knowing the difference between a continued-use transaction and redevelopment could result in a different outcome. But also, if redevelopment is proposed there is variation in effort required to alleviate that risk. Avoid tarnishing the site with the same brush.
- Gain clarity – For complex sites, data can be plentiful, not least because of its historical legacy and potential variety of former uses. A consultant will remove the noise and present you with actionable insights that can be easily explained to the end client.
- Technical findings to legal advice – We are acutely aware that when there are potential issues with a site, just presenting technical findings is not useful. Therefore, you will need a report that translates this into clear next steps you can work with your client on. That’s where the SiteSolutions Combined report comes in.
- Mitigate exposure to liability – Having a report that is compatible with any transaction context including redevelopment means you can continue to protect your client’s interest and foresee issues before they materialise.
What sets SiteSolutions Combined apart from other contaminated land assessments
The table below is a concise summary of some of the key attributes that are embedded in the SiteSolutions Combined report, which showcase why there really is no other choice when it comes to redevelopment transactions.
| Standard Search | SiteSolutions Combined | |
| Liability Assessment (Part 2A) | Yes | Yes |
| Considers redevelopment | – | Yes |
| Manual Consultant Assessment for Contaminated Land and Flood | – | Yes |
| Risk Ratings (e.g. Low, Moderate, High) | – | Yes |
| Consultants Commentary to explain risk | – | Yes |
| Tailored recommendations (risk & outcome) | – | Yes |
| Direct access to the report writer | – | Yes |
What’s next?
In the coming weeks you can expect to have more detail in the Landmark Utilities and SiteSolutions Highways report where we will uncover the key features and benefits that demonstrate why they are essential for redevelopment transactions.
Register your interest in Landmark’s upcoming webinar
Landmark Information will soon be hosting a webinar training session focused on the three essential reports for redevelopment transactions: SiteSolutions Combined, Landmark Utilities, and SiteSolutions Highways.
Click here to complete the short registration form and secure your place.
This article was submitted by Landmark Information Group as part of an advertising agreement with Today’s Conveyancer. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.
