Having one of the largest residential development legal teams and a leading private client practice, we are uniquely placed to help landowners, developers, promoters, local authorities, and rural businesses unlock the potential of land for development.
Elizabeth Newson
Partner
Lucy Smallwood
Partner
Richard Walford
Partner
We have always received a rapid and comprehensive level of service and responsiveness from Michelmores.
Chambers 2025
At Michelmores we understand the unique challenges and opportunities faced by land promoters. From navigating complex landowner relationships to structuring commercially viable agreements and securing planning permission, our Strategic Land team is here to support you every step of the way.
Strategic land promotion is a long game – requiring vision, resilience and expert legal support. Our team helps you to manage risk, build trust with stakeholders and deliver outcomes that stand the test of time.
We work with land promoters, helping them to unlock sites for residential, commercial and mixed-use development across the country.
We offer specialist advice across all aspects of strategic land promotion, including:
Our lawyers are known for their commercial acumen, collaborative approach and deep understanding of the planning and development landscape.
We provide clear, commercially focused structuring advice from the outset of a transaction, providing early-stage strategic input to assist with site assembly, assessing site viability and the structuring of deals. We help structure deals that are robust, future-proof and aligned with your strategy.
Navigating the planning process is complex and often critical to a project’s success. We offer expert advice on planning agreements, such as Section 106, as well as planning appeals and associated environmental issues. Our planning lawyers work closely with local authorities, consultants, and developers to help secure timely consents while managing environmental, heritage and biodiversity considerations.
We help you navigate the legal and practical complexities of third party occupation, including Agricultural Holdings Act tenancies, farm business tenancies, residential leases and commercial occupiers working alongside our leading agriculture team and our property litigation team with a view to ensuring landowners can deliver vacant possession at the relevant time with minimal risk and delay.
Working with our leading Natural Capital team we provide biodiversity and other natural capital advice including advice in relation to contracting to acquire land for BNG and BNG units as well as preparing bespoke drafting to anticipate future requirements in documentation.
We are also able to support our land promotion clients with other business needs including re-structuring, corporate, employment and other advice as required.
We have a genuine knowledge of landowners and their aspirations and concerns in a strategic land deal meaning we are well placed to anticipate and overcome issues that can frequently arise in a land promotion deal.
As part of our Destination 2030 Strategy we seek to deliver our legal services through Collaboration, Commerciality and Creativity. Collaboration underpins everything we do. Working alongside you as a business means team-on-team integration, wider commercial support and access to our extensive offering of knowledge, thought leadership and industry events. As a firm, Michelmores has a proud record of working with many key clients for several decades, and relish the prospect of forming longstanding relationship with our promoter clients. Commerciality drives our approach to transactions and the way we will provide legal services. We are a friendly and approachable team, and always ‘solutions-driven’. Creativity sets us apart from our competitors. We are embracing the role of AI and its ability to drive efficiency in providing legal services, and we prize working in an entrepreneurial environment where we think of the best way to solve problems.
Decades of experience in acting for promoters, private landowners, landed estates and trustees across England and Wales.
We pride ourselves on forging lasting relationships—our clients trust us to navigate the complexities of strategic land from first step to final completion.
We understand the development landscape, market cycles and how best to structure deals that deliver enduring value whilst managing risk and tax exposure.
No one-size-fits-all here. Every agreement is bespoke and shaped around your land, your values and your long-term goals.
Our strategic land team has a proven track record of advising Promoters on complex, high-value projects across the country. We have supported clients in unlocking full land potential while navigating planning, environmental, and legal challenges. Below is a selection of recent work that demonstrates the breadth of our expertise, the strength of our partnerships, and the real-world results we help our clients achieve.
Acting for a well known South West land promoter in respect of new promotions, lifecycle of promotion, disposals, planning support and acquisition of BNG units.
Acting for a well known South West land promoter in respect of the assembly (including 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.
Acting for a well known promoter on the disposal of various sites (and phases of sites) across the South West, both on conditional and unconditionl terms. Recent sales have included schemes for 100 and 150 dwellings in Somerset and North Devon.
Acting for the promoter of a mixed use 250 dwelling and employment scheme in Exeter, including a significant SANGS element, apportionment of CPO risks and complex vacant possession strategy.
Acting for a landowning local authority looking to promote strategic land for development. Undertaking initial title reviews and creating risk registers to aid with bringing the sites forward.
Acting for a regional land promoter in the promotion of a site in mutliple ownership for residential development including the negotiation of a replacement promotion agreement, release of overages, electricity apparatus diversion and exchange of an unconditional sale contract to a regional housebuilder.
Michelmores were prompt to respond and contactable despite high-pressure workloads and tight timescales. It was flexible to adapt to our changing deadlines.
Chambers UK 2025
From early-stage land strategy and heads of terms through to planning, infrastructure and eventual sale, we combine technical excellence with personal attention. Our team brings fresh thinking to every project and a determination to help you unlock both land potential and peace of mind.
Ready to Talk?
We’re here when you are. Let’s discuss how we can help you navigate the path ahead with confidence. Contact our Strategic Land Team.
