Selling Land in Kent

• 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 Kent 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 Most of West Kent

The Green Belt around London covers most of the west of the county. Sevenoaks District Council says 93% of its district is Green Belt, the second highest proportion in the country. Since December 2024, land that does not strongly contribute to Green Belt purposes can be treated as grey belt. In west Kent that often means former yards, nurseries and fields hemmed in by roads or homes. Housing on grey belt also has to pass a need test, which a council usually meets with less than five years of land or a delivery score under 75%. Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Malling, Gravesham and Tunbridge Wells can show that; Dartford currently cannot. The Golden Rules on affordable housing, infrastructure and green space then apply to larger schemes. Our grey belt guide sets out the test.

Kent Downs and High Weald

The Kent Downs run in a long arc along the North Downs, above Sevenoaks, Maidstone, Ashford and Folkestone, and out to the coast at Dover. The High Weald covers the wooded, hilly country in the south west. Major development inside either is only allowed in exceptional circumstances. Towns such as Sevenoaks, Maidstone and Folkestone sit right against the Kent Downs, so the effect on the setting of the landscape is often the main issue on their edges.

Stodmarsh and Nutrient Neutrality

The Stodmarsh lakes east of Canterbury are protected for their wetland wildlife, which is threatened by phosphate and nitrate pollution from the River Stour catchment. New homes in the affected parts of the five councils must show they are nutrient neutral before permission is granted. Kent County Council says more than 7,000 homes have been delayed. Nutrient credits can now be bought from several providers, and in July 2026 the county council launched a £9.8 million fund for wetlands and treatment works that will create more credits. For landowners this is a cost and timing issue, not a reason to give up on a site.

Flood Risk and the Coast

The Thames estuary, the Medway, the Stour and the Darent all carry flood risk, and Romney Marsh, Sheppey and parts of the north Kent coast are low lying. Land in Flood Zones 2 and 3 faces the sequential test. A site with a wet corner can still work if the homes sit on the drier part. How this is assessed is covered in our guide to flood risk.

Roads and Rail

The M2, M20, M25 and A2 carry most of the county's traffic, and HS1 gives Ebbsfleet, Ashford, Canterbury and Folkestone fast trains to London. The Lower Thames Crossing east of Gravesend received development consent in 2025. Junction capacity is often tested closely, so safe access matters.

Each of these adds evidence and cost to a scheme rather than closing the door, and when you sell land in Kent with us, that work is ours to commission and pay for.

The route for your land depends on its council and whether it is in the Green Belt, a National Landscape or the Stodmarsh catchment. The main routes are:

1. Unmet need, outside the Green Belt. In Medway, Swale, Thanet, Folkestone and Hythe and the non Green Belt parts of Gravesham and Tonbridge and Malling, policy S5 treats the council as having evidenced unmet housing need. A well located site on the edge of a town or village has a real case, though other constraints still apply.
2. A supply shortfall, outside the Green Belt. Ashford, Canterbury, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells pass the 75% line but are short of five years of land. Under S5 that shortfall is evidence of unmet need to weigh, not an automatic finding. Inside built-up areas, policy S4 leans towards approval everywhere.
3. Grey belt, in west Kent. In Sevenoaks, Dartford, Gravesham and Tonbridge and Malling, the question is usually whether land is grey belt. Former yards and other previously developed land are often the strongest starting point.
4. Local plan allocation. Canterbury, Gravesham, Sevenoaks and Swale have published final draft plans, Tonbridge and Malling has been directed to submit its plan by the end of 2026 and Medway's is at examination. In Dartford and Dover, the 2024 plans set the route for most land. Our guide to calls for sites and plan reviews explains the route.
5. Sites near stations. National policy now supports higher density homes within walking distance of well connected stations. Whether it applies depends on the station and its service.

We check the council, the Green Belt, the landscape and the nutrient position before we give a view.