Strategic Land
‘Comprehensive team of expert property lawyers experienced in real estate transactions and the sale of development sites in particular’. ‘They have good resources as a firm so are able to call on support for tax, VAT, planning, trusts and corporate law matters’
Legal 500 2023"Commercial and forward-thinking, putting the client relationship first. Commercially astute providing clear and concise advice."
Chambers UK 2023Having the country’s leading agricultural legal practice and one of the largest development teams, we are ideally placed to support landowners and rural businesses in bringing forward land for development.
Many of our clients, as custodians for the natural environment, are navigating a period of huge change with land management, conservation, diversification, and biodiversity loss top of agenda. We help clients navigate this change, helping realise maximum value from land suitable for development whilst delivering on natural capital, planning, agricultural, succession and tax planning matters.
Our services include:
- structuring advice in relation to heads of terms in respect of promotion agreements, strategic options, conditional contracts, overage arrangements, joint ventures and collaboration agreements
- transactional real estate advice – taking the deal through from heads of terms stage to conclusion
- planning advice – including section 106 agreements, planning appeals and environmental issues
- tax and trusts advice – including strategic estate planning, tax issues linked to joint ventures and land pooling
- tenancies and third party occupiers – including achieving vacant possession and dealing with third party tenancies and leases
Making a difference
Promoting, disposing or developing land to deliver new homes is a complex process requiring expert advice. Our team’s unrivalled knowledge, experience and commitment to achieving the best result for our landowning clients is what differentiates us.
We have an in-depth knowledge of the legal structures and issues and a reputation for providing pragmatic and commercial advice delivered by lawyers available when you need them. Our distinctive culture and refreshing approach to collaboration means that our property experts work side by side with specialist planning, natural capital, private client, agricultural, tax, construction, and corporate advisers meaning you will always have access to the exact specialist knowledge required.
Our Work
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Acting for a landed estate in relation to circa 1000 acres of land for industrial/ distribution/ residential and mixed use development involving complex agreements with a joint venture consortium addressing issues such as the treatment of major up front infrastructure, and tax suspension arrangements. |
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Acting in respect of the assembly (including the exercise of options) and disposal of linked sites in a Somerset town involving a number of planning permissions and disposals of 3 consented sites including the disposal of a primary school site with arrangements for highway works and services to benefit the wider site. |
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Acting for a landowner family in relation to their entering into an equity participation agreement and promotion agreement with a land promoter and developer. We advised the clients on the impact of the development project on their existing farming partnership and farming business as well as family succession planning. |
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Acting for the landowners of a significant strategic site in south Devon with outline planning permission for 409 homes, a new school, employment land and community facilities in the sale of the site to Taylor Wimpey with provision for linkage with neighbouring land to accommodate masterplan requirements. |
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Advising charity trustee landowners in relation to a promotion agreement in respect of a 75 acre site in Bournemouth with potential for 450 market and affordable dwellings, care home, community uses extensive open space and SANG. |
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Acting for multiple landowning family trusts in relation to a new garden village comprising 5000 sustainable new homes, being one of the largest proposed new settlements in the SW working in partnership with land promoters and infrastructure developers. |
Recent experience
Acting for a group of private landowners in a promotion agreement relating to the potential residential development of a 100 acre site near Exeter, including a landowner’s agreement regulating the complex relationship between the land-owning parties and providing for a land pooling trust and equalisation of the sale proceeds.
Acting for a leading regional developer in the securing of options to acquire land for residential development where our role includes the provision of detailed structuring advice and the development of bespoke documents addressing a range of planning contexts with input from our planning team.
Acting for a landed estate in the north of England in relation to circa 1000 acres of the Estate’s lands which are zoned for inclusion in the Greater Manchester Development Framework for industrial/distribution/ residential and mixed use development. This involves complex agreements with a joint venture consortium addressing issues such as the treatment of major up front infrastructure, and tax suspension arrangements.
Acting for a leading regional land promoter in securing a promotion agreement relating to land for residential development with provision, for example, for the promotion of sites in phases, the disposal of consented sites in tranches and arrangements dealing with the provision of roads and services to adjoining land as well as acquisitions, onward sales and the exercise of options.
Acting for private landowners in South Wales in relation to a major land holding within the local plan for housing development involving a series of option agreements with a national house builder, renewals and extensions of options and guidance from our planning team through the planning and infrastructure processes necessary to unlock the land for development.
Acting for a group of local authorities in Essex in relation to the initial promotion and due diligence stage of an exciting garden communities’ project for the delivery of over 10,000 proposed new homes in three garden communities to be supported by the delivery of new roads and infrastructure.
Acting for a landed estate in Devon which has embarked on a series of joint venture agreements with national and regional house builders to deliver sites with permission for more than 500 new homes in East Devon with provision to allow the Estate to exercise control over quality and design to secure its legacy as well as to share in the profits of the ventures.
Acting for an offshore landowning trust in relation to the sale to a national house builder of a site with planning permission for over 230 dwellings in Cornwall with arrangements for the site assembly to be secured by agreements with the adjoining landowners and addressing complex issues relating to mineral rights.
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KEY CONTACTS
Lucy Smallwood
PartnerTEAM
Julie Sharpe
Partner
Elizabeth Newson
Partner
Ben Sharples FRICS FAAV FCIArb
Partner
Ross Jarvis
Senior Associate
Richard Walford
Partner
Emma Honey
Partner
Helen Hutton
Partner
Charlotte Coombs
Senior Associate
Alexandra Watson
Partner
Lucy Smallwood
Partner