Paul Addison, managing director at location development risk specialists DevAssist, explains why evolving planning policy and legal precedent make detailed search reports a necessity for home buyers.
Most homebuyers believe the view they fell in love with will still be there in five years’ time. Increasingly, that assumption is wrong.
By the time clients instruct a conveyancer, they have often already spent months searching for the right property. They have stretched budgets, debated compromises and emotionally invested in what they believe they are buying; whether that is open countryside, greenbelt land, a river view or simply the promise of what so many of us crave – peace and space.
What many do not realise is that the land surrounding a property can change dramatically, and sometimes quickly. Across the UK, growing housing pressure and evolving planning policy are reshaping areas many assumed were protected from development. Campaigners opposing a proposed 500-home development on greenbelt land in Kingswinford recently said their fears had been realised following the submission of an outline planning application for the site.
Changing sentiment
While planning specialists acting for the applicants argued the site was already contained by existing roads and urban development, opposition to the scheme highlights a wider change in public sentiment. Increasingly, communities are not only questioning whether land can be developed under planning policy, but whether local infrastructure, services and environmental pressures can realistically absorb further growth.
For conveyancers, this changing landscape is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Standard searches are thorough within their scope; they cover the property itself, planning history, drainage, environmental data and local land charges. But what they don’t typically reveal is the wider development risk surrounding a location – what is planned nearby, what land has already been identified for future development, or how vulnerable surrounding land may be under local planning pressures.
That information exists and is publicly available. The challenge is knowing where to look, and more importantly, how to interpret what it means for the client.
Interpreting risk
When a major development emerges after completion, the consequences can be significant. I have spoken to buyers who only discovered nearby schemes after exchange. The distress and sense of having been let down should not be underestimated. At that point, questions around responsibility and liability quickly follow.
The legal position is also evolving. The case of Bird & Bird v Orientfield Holdings established that if a solicitor commissions a planning search or report, they assume a duty to consider its contents and advise the client appropriately. The obligation is not simply to forward information with a disclaimer attached, but to interpret risk.
Many firms purchase planning data and pass it directly to the client for review, but raw data alone is not enough. The real issue is whether the implications of that information have been properly understood and communicated. Negligence claims can be brought up to six years after the alleged breach, and planning-related complaints remain a significant issue within conveyancing.
Development pressure
At DevAssist, we produce specialist development risk reports for residential and commercial transactions. The simplest way to explain it is this: a structural survey tells you whether the building is sound, we tell you whether the location is. That means analysing live planning applications, reviewing local plans, assessing housing land supply positions and identifying land already earmarked for future development through SHELAA assessments and other planning frameworks.
When councils fall short on housing supply, land previously considered protected can become increasingly vulnerable to development pressure. Nearly half of the reports we produce, currently 46%, identify a high-risk development site within 75 metres of the subject property.
Every report is peer-reviewed before delivery, and clients have direct access to the report writer through our helpline service. Crucially, when a conveyancing firm commissions a DevAssist report, liability for the interpretation of that planning data transfers to us, providing an additional layer of documented protection for both the firm and the client. A report starts at £145 plus VAT. Against the value of a property transaction, and the potential cost of a negligence claim, it is a relatively small investment for significantly greater protection – financial and emotional.
Changing expectations
I am not suggesting conveyancers are falling short, but I do believe expectations have changed. Clients today expect more than confirmation that the property itself is legally sound. They want confidence in the wider location they are investing in and the future risks surrounding it.
The conveyancing firms recognising the change are not reacting after problems emerge. They are proactively giving clients a fuller picture before decisions are made. When buyers choose a property for the view, the open space or the quality of life it promises, they are investing in far more than bricks and mortar.
Understanding what may change around them is no longer a luxury, it is part of fully informed due diligence.
About the author
Paul Addison has been involved in the residential housing industry for over 25 years. Before founding DevAssist, he established three successful companies and several housing developments. His experience inspired him to rethink how we invest in properties and that a better level of insight should be accessible to all, regardless of property location or value. DevAssist was the result of this experience and perspective.
