Collection

Using land for homebuilding and regeneration

Guidance on identifying, acquiring and disposing of land, determining site feasibility, due diligence, and managing risks associated with brownfield sites.

Homes England is responsible for increasing the supply of public land to developers and speeding up the rate it can be built on. By releasing more land, we’re making possible the construction of new homes England needs, helping to improve neighbourhoods and grow communities.

Homes England is not responsible for and does not endorse the information provided by any third parties we’ve referenced on this page. We are not promoting one organisation above another. Please see the disclaimer in the GOV.UK terms and conditions. The contents of any Homes England videos we’ve included were applicable at the time of recording; they do not constitute legal advice and are provided for informational purposes only.

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Identifying land for development

Guidance on the strategic identification and assessment of land to produce a pipeline for development.

The Homes England Land Hub identifies land we’re selling in the next 6 months.

Watch this Homes England video about identifying housing and unlocking development in rural settings.

Due diligence

Guidance on due diligence processes including those related to land condition, land ownership, location and suitability, and dealing with constraints (such as legal, planning, technical and environmental).

The Planning Portal is a joint venture between Homes England and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). It provides information on identifying and dealing with planning constraints.

The Planning Advisory Service (PAS) held a webinar on a new form of environmental assessment known as Environmental Outcome Reports (EOR).

The Survey Association (TSA) provides guidance on various areas of surveying.

The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environment Management (CIEEM) have provided two guidance documents supporting for ecological surveys:

Land acquisition

Guidance for acquiring bodies on Homes England’s approach to selling land, and site assembly using compulsory purchase powers. This includes the use of land referencing and appropriation.

Land referencing is research on, and analysis and presentation of, all interests in land impacted by schemes using powers of compulsory purchase. As an acquiring authority, it is good practice to conduct land referencing and consult with all parties when making an application.

Watch this Homes England video outlining the essentials of compulsory purchase orders.

Watch this Homes England video outlining Local Authorities’ land assembly and compulsory purchase orders powers.

Watch this Homes England video on compulsory purchase orders: valuations.

The Society of Land Referencers provide detailed guidance on land referencing.

The Compulsory Purchase Association (CPA) have a series of practice documents to support local authorities with compulsory purchases.

The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 provides legislation on compulsory purchase orders.

De-risking and remediating brownfield land for housing-led projects

Guidance on the delivery of housing-led projects on brownfield land, including how to assess, investigate and manage the risks.

The Planning Advisory Service (PAS) have turned their research on how local planning authorities (LPAs) can promote the delivery of brownfield land development into a set of useful case studies.

The Planning Portal have provided guidance and information on land contamination, as well as further links on how to deal with contaminated land.

Watch this video from Homes England introducing the subject of brownfield sites used in housing development.

Site feasibility

Guidance on what a feasibility study is, its purpose, when should one be carried out and what it should include.

A feasibility study will help determine what options are achievable for a particular site and whether it is practicable to proceed.

Partnership working

Guidance and case studies on delivery partnerships, including Homes England’s approach to strategic partnerships.

Urbanist Architecture has written a comprehensive article on joint ventures, outlining how to identify a partner and set up a joint venture housing company.

Watch this Homes England video introducing delivery partnerships.

Updates to this page

Published 25 July 2023
Last updated 10 December 2024 + show all updates
  1. In 'Land Aquisition' a broken link to a resource from Eversheds Sutherland and a resource from the Greater London Authority have been removed. Links to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 and a video on the Homes England learning programme on Compulsory Purchase Orders: Valuations have been added. In 'Due diligence' a broken link to a resource from the Social Housing Retrofit Accelerator has been removed.

  2. New link Homes England video outlining Local Authorities' land assembly and Compulsory Purchase Orders Powers. Removal of document about disposals of land assets due to out of date content.

  3. Links to the Planning Portal on land contamination have been added to the 'De-risking and remediating brownfield land for housing-led projects' group. Links to guidance from CIEEM on ecological surveys and appraisals have been added to the 'Due diligence' group.

  4. Land Compensation Manual added to the Land Acquisition section; a link to Compulsory Purchase Association (CPA) practice documents added; resources from Designing Buildings removed.

  5. First published.