Getting planning permission has just got a whole lot easier for Britain’s house builders. And that spells extra danger for your property-buying clients.
Under the government’s National Planning Policy Framework introduced 12 months ago, local authorities had until this month to come up with their local development plans. Just 7% have done so.
That leaves 93% of the country where the principle of ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’ is now in force. In other words, where schemes are deemed acceptable in sustainability terms, they’re far more likely to be waved through by the government on appeal.
It’s a window of opportunity that many developers will be only too keen to exploit.
All the more reason, then, why you should be offering your clients the opportunity to check if the property they’re thinking of buying could in the future be affected by a nearby development.
Our unique DevAssess report not only searches for previous and current planning applications that could impact on the property but also offers a professional assessment of the likelihood of future development taking place within a radius of 75 metres.
Last year, 80% of our urban searches showed up one or more possible future threat while a worrying 10% revealed a serious risk to the client’s long-term enjoyment of a property or its future value.
Is it worth taking the risk? A DevAssess report costs just £80 — a very small price to pay for the extra knowledge and peace of mind it offers to all concerned.
For more information visit www.dev-assist.co.uk or call 01342 890010.
