Selling Land in Surrey

• 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 Surrey 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, the First Check on Almost Every Surrey Site

The Green Belt is the first thing we check on almost every Surrey site. Since December 2024, land that does not strongly contribute to the Green Belt's purposes can be treated as grey belt, and homes on it can be approved if they meet the Golden Rules on affordable housing, infrastructure and green space. Paddocks enclosed by housing, frontage land in villages and old yards are the kind of land that often qualifies. Open fields that separate two towns usually do not. Our grey belt guide explains the test in full.

The Surrey Hills National Landscape

The Surrey Hills run from Farnham in the west to Oxted in the east, taking in Box Hill, Leith Hill and the Hog's Back. National policy gives great weight to conserving their landscape and scenic beauty, and major development inside them is only allowed in exceptional circumstances. Natural England submitted a proposal in September 2026 to add around 129 square kilometres to the area. Until the government confirms it, the proposed extension areas have no new status, but the landscape evidence behind the proposal is public and we take it into account.

Thames Basin Heaths

The heaths around Camberley, Bagshot, Chobham and Woking are protected for ground-nesting birds. New homes within 400 metres are normally refused. Between 400 metres and 5 kilometres, housing needs Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) and a payment towards managing visitors. That adds cost, but land that could itself become SANG can make homes possible on the rest of a larger holding.

The Thames, the Wey and the Mole

The Thames floods at Staines, Chertsey, Shepperton and the Moleseys, and the Wey and the Mole have wide floodplains through Guildford, Godalming, Weybridge, Dorking and Leatherhead. Land in Flood Zones 2 and 3 faces the sequential test, but many fields can keep their homes on the drier part. Our flood risk guide explains the tests.

Reorganisation

From April 2027, East Surrey will cover Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell, Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead and Tandridge. West Surrey will cover Guildford, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Waverley and Woking. Existing local plans stay in force until the new councils replace them, and applications made now carry on. Four of the five councils below 75% will form part of East Surrey.

Applications made now carry on through the change, so an owner selling land in what will become East or West Surrey does not need to wait for the new councils before a site is reviewed.

In Surrey, the question is usually less about housing numbers and more about whether land is grey belt. Where a council is below 75%, well-located land that is not Green Belt has a strong case, but there is very little of it. The routes we use are:

1. Grey belt applications. Land that does little to stop sprawl or towns merging can be put forward now where the council's numbers show need, as most Surrey councils' numbers currently do, and larger schemes must meet the Golden Rules.
2. Previously developed land. Old yards, nurseries, depots and equestrian sites, which national policy supports inside and outside settlements, including in the Green Belt.
3. Local plan allocation. Elmbridge is starting again, and the two new councils will in time prepare new plans under the new system. Each stage is described in our plan-making guide.
4. Sites near stations. National policy now supports higher density homes within walking distance of well-connected stations, depending on the station and its service.
5. Land that can provide SANG. In the north west, open land that can become public green space can support a housing scheme nearby.

Small sites matter in Surrey. A few acres in the right place can be worth a great deal, and many of the best opportunities are paddocks and yards rather than large fields. Our paddocks and small sites page explains what we look for.