From a Field to a Planning Permission

The site was an agricultural field on Hall Barn Road, on the edge of Isleham, a village about eight miles south east of Ely and six miles north of Newmarket. Bungalows face it across Hall Barn Road, and open fields run to the north and west. With homes already on two sides, the field sat within the edge of the village rather than beyond it, the kind of site councils find easiest to support.

An Allocated Field With an Earlier Permission

The field was already allocated for housing in East Cambridgeshire's local plan, under policy ISL.3, and had outline permission for 14 homes (16/00055/OUM), followed by approval of the details (17/01249/RMM). An allocation is the council saying, in its own plan, that homes belong on that land. It does not grant permission by itself, but it settles the question of principle, so the application that follows is about how the homes are laid out rather than whether they should be there at all.

Most land with development potential is not allocated. For that land the question of principle is still open, and it turns on the council's own figures: whether it can show five years of housing land, how it did in the Housing Delivery Test, and where its next plan stands. Every council page on this site sets those figures out, with the council's own sources.

Why a New Application for Seventeen Homes

A permission covers the number of homes it names. To fit three more homes on the same field, two for sale and one affordable, a fresh outline application was needed rather than a small amendment. The homes were redesigned with smaller footprints, and the gaps between them kept to the spacing the council had already accepted, so the site took more homes without looking more crowded from the road.

What the Council Asked for Before the Application Went In

Before applying, the applicant's team met the council's planning officer for pre-application advice. The officer set out what an acceptable scheme would need:

• Affordable homes on the eastern side, matching the size of the bungalows opposite, in the same position as the earlier approval.
• Homes nearest Temple Road kept as far back from the road as before.
• Hedges, not close-boarded fences, on the northern and western boundaries, where the field meets open country.
• At least 10 metres between the southern boundary and the nearest new homes.
• At least 50 square metres of private garden for every home.
• No building taller than the earlier approval allowed.

Advice like this is how a scheme is shaped around what officers will support before anything becomes public. On land we take on, we pay for the same pre-application work and the surveys behind it, and we explain our recommended route to you before anything is submitted.

An Outline Permission That Fixed Almost Everything

An outline permission can leave most of the design for later. This one did the opposite: the decision fixed the access, layout, scale and appearance of the homes, leaving only the landscaping to be approved as a reserved matter. The details had to be submitted within two years, and building had to start within two years of their approval. The more an outline permission settles at the start, the less there is to argue about later, and the more certain the scheme becomes.

The access is a new junction onto Hall Barn Road with visibility splays, a road through the site built to adoptable standard with a footway of 1.8 metres on both sides, a turning head big enough for a fire engine or a bin lorry, and a crossing point with dropped kerbs to the footway on the far side of the road. The whole field lies in Flood Zone 1, the lowest risk of flooding from rivers or the sea, and infiltration tests showed that rain falling on roofs and roads could drain into the ground through soakaways.

What the Section 106 Agreement Secured

Alongside the permission, the owner signed a Section 106 agreement with the council, a legal deed that runs with the land and binds whoever builds the homes. Here it secured:

• Affordable housing. 30% of the homes, split 77% for rent and 23% shared ownership, which on 17 homes means five affordable bungalows.
• Education. £41,184 for early years places and £144,144 for primary places, both towards a new school in Isleham, and £95,500 for secondary places at Soham Village College, all index linked. Half was payable once half the homes were occupied, and the rest before the last home was occupied.
• Libraries and waste. £570 towards the mobile library service, and a contribution for the wheeled bins each new home needs.

Those sums, and the affordable homes, come out of the value of the land, not the builder's pocket, which is why they matter to a landowner long before any building starts. Our guide to Section 106 and CIL explains how councils set them. When we agree a price for your land, it is fixed at the start, and costs like these are never taken off it later.

The Conditions That Came With It

The permission also carried about twenty conditions, each one a piece of work to be done before or during building. Before work begins: a surface water drainage scheme based on sustainable drainage, with infiltration tests and storm calculations; an investigation of any contamination in the ground; and a programme of archaeological work. Before anyone moves in: fire hydrants, a scheme of biodiversity improvements, and the roads and footways built to the standard the county council expects. During building: set working hours and a plan for lorries, deliveries and mud on the road.

None of these is unusual for a village scheme of this size, and every one of them is a cost. On land we take on, the surveys that answer these questions before an application goes in are paid for by us, from the first ecology visit to any appeal.

What It Means for Land Like Yours

The application took about sixteen months from submission to the permission being issued, through the first year of the pandemic. Isleham shows what councils look for on a small edge-of-village site: a safe access, homes that fit the character of their neighbours, affordable housing, contributions to schools, drainage that works and a scheme that respects the edge of the countryside. A field that can offer those things, next to or well related to a town or village, is the kind of land we look for.

If you would like a sense of what your own land might take, our land value tool gives a rough indication in a couple of minutes, and a free, confidential desktop review gives you a plain answer about its planning prospects, with no obligation.

Where the route is through a local plan rather than a planning application, the timescale is set by the council's plan timetable and is usually longer. Our guide on how long planning takes explains each route in more detail.

1. Talking it over. You and your family can take the time you need to decide, and we are happy to meet everyone together, in person or by video call, to answer questions.
2. Survey visits. Ecologists, surveyors and engineers need access from time to time. Every visit is arranged with you in advance, and any damage to crops, fences or gates is put right.
3. Before anything goes public. We explain which planning route we recommend, and why, before anything is submitted. An application or local plan submission becomes public once it is made, so we agree the timing with you first.
4. Consultation and committee. Neighbours and the parish council may have views, and some may mention it to you. We run the consultation and deal with the council, and we tell you what is happening at each consultation, committee meeting and decision.
5. Carrying on as normal. You keep farming, grazing or letting the land throughout, and the income from it stays yours until completion.
6. Handing over. Your solicitor handles the conveyancing in the normal way, and you give up possession on the completion date, not before. If the land is farmed, you can plan the final harvest around the dates in your agreement.

The full process, stage by stage, is set out on our how it works page.