Selling Land in Buckinghamshire

• It sits next to, or is well related to, an existing town or village.
• A safe access onto a public road is possible, even if it needs work.
• Most of the land is outside the highest flood risk zone.
• It is not covered by a strong designation such as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
• It is about 2 acres or more, or part of a larger holding.
• Everyone who owns it is willing to consider one clear, agreed price.

If your land does not tick every box, ask anyway. Many of the sites we take on have a problem to solve, whether that is access, drainage, a tenancy or an awkward boundary, and solving those problems is our job.

1. A first conversation. You call us or send the form on this page. We need only your postcode, your name and a phone number or email.
2. A free desktop review. Within a few days we look at your land, the planning position in Buckinghamshire and the routes open to it, and tell you plainly whether it suits us. The review is free and confidential, with no obligation.
3. Heads of terms and the option agreement. If it suits, we agree a price with you in writing, then the option agreement itself. We contribute to your solicitor's and land agent's fees, so it costs you nothing to get it done properly.
4. The planning work, at our cost. We pay for the surveys, the design, the planning application and any appeal. You carry on farming, grazing or letting the land as you do now.
5. Completion. If planning permission is granted, we complete the purchase and you receive the agreed price on completion. If it is not, you keep your land and owe nothing.

How selling land for development works, step by step gives the detail of each stage and how long it usually takes.

Green Belt Across the South of the County

In the south of the county the Green Belt is the first thing we check. It wraps around Beaconsfield, Gerrards Cross, Amersham, Chalfont St Peter, Marlow and the villages along the Thames and the Colne. Policy S5 does not apply in the Green Belt, but land that does not strongly contribute to its purposes can be grey belt. Homes on it can be acceptable where need is shown, usually by a delivery result under 75% or less than five years of land, and the Golden Rules on affordable homes, infrastructure and green space apply to larger schemes. With every Buckinghamshire planning area short of five years, that need test is met today. Because the draft Local Plan does not allocate new housing in the Green Belt, grey belt applications and previously developed land are the realistic routes in this part of the county for now. Our grey belt guide explains the test.

The Chilterns National Landscape

National policy gives great weight to conserving the landscape and scenic beauty of the Chilterns, and major development inside the boundary is only allowed in exceptional circumstances. Land just outside it is judged on its effect on views from the hills and on the character of the valleys. Natural England had been reviewing whether to extend the boundary, but cancelled that review in May 2025, so the existing boundary stands.

Protected Woodland

Parts of the Chilterns Beechwoods, including Ashridge Commons and Woods on the Hertfordshire border, are protected at the highest level. New homes within 12.6 kilometres of Ashridge need a habitats assessment, and each new home carries a contribution towards access management and new green space to draw visitors away. Burnham Beeches, near Farnham Common in the south, has its own mitigation strategy. These costs rarely stop a good site, but they do affect what a developer can pay.

The Thames at Marlow, the Great Ouse and the Colne Valley

The Thames forms the southern boundary, and Marlow, Bourne End and the riverside villages have a long history of flooding. In the north, the Great Ouse runs through Buckingham, Newport Pagnell and Olney, and the Thame drains much of the Vale of Aylesbury. The Colne valley on the eastern edge is wide and low lying. Land in Flood Zones 2 and 3 faces the sequential test, but many fields have their wet land along one edge, which can be kept as open space and drainage. Read more in our guide to flood risk.

Transport and Infrastructure

HS2 crosses the county from the tunnel under the Chilterns out across the Vale towards Brackley, and parts of its route are still under construction. The East West Rail line runs through Winslow and Bletchley. The M40 serves High Wycombe and Beaconsfield, the M1 serves Milton Keynes and the M25 clips the south east corner. The Chiltern line, the Metropolitan line to Amersham and Chesham, the West Coast Main Line at Milton Keynes and the Elizabeth line at Iver and Taplow give much of the county direct links to London.

For an owner near Winslow, Iver or Taplow, those stations can count for as much as any designation, since national policy now supports more homes within walking distance of a well connected station.

Neither council is below 75%, but delivery and land supply are two different tests, and Buckinghamshire fails the second. Milton Keynes passes both. The routes we use most here are:

1. A planning application under policy S5. Outside the Green Belt in Buckinghamshire, a field that adjoins a town or village, with roads, schools and drainage that can cope. The shortfall is evidence of need to be weighed, not an automatic finding, so access and services still decide the case.
2. The Buckinghamshire Local Plan and later reviews. The draft plan is now heading to examination, and plans under the new system must be reviewed regularly. Land that is not in this plan can still be put forward for the next one, and the evidence we build now carries forward. Our call for sites guide walks through the stages.
3. The MK City Plan 2050. For land around Milton Keynes, the examination and the plans that follow it are the main route.
4. Grey belt in the south. Paddocks, small fields and yards that do little to stop towns merging or spreading can qualify, subject to the Golden Rules.
5. Previously developed land. Old yards, depots and redundant farm buildings, which national policy supports inside and outside settlements. Some farm buildings can also be converted to homes under Class Q.
6. Land near stations. National policy now supports higher density homes within walking distance of well-connected stations. Whether that applies depends on the station and the service it has.

Land here is valuable, but the Green Belt and the Chilterns cover much of the south. The sites that do well are well placed, well evidenced and put forward patiently. Our agreements are written to give that time.