Buying land and storing materials on it

Bartoni79

Hi, I’ve seen a fair amount of land for sale at auctions… if I bought some land like the below (just an example below). Is there anything to stop me lending/ renting the land to someone who might want to store green waste/ building materials on it? Or do you ALWAYS need to ask the council and change the land type from residential to commercial land. I ask as you see people with all sorts in their front gardens / drives - from skips/ old cars/ building materials/ fridges etc and I assume they’ve not had to contact the council and that stuff has been there for years.


https://www.barnardmarcusauctions.co.uk/auctions/29-july-2025/625579/

user1977

Of course you'd need permission. Look at the site on street view - do you really think somebody could just chop down the trees and turn it into a builders' yard or whatever else you're proposing?

MyRealNameToo

Bartoni79 said:

Hi, I’ve seen a fair amount of land for sale at auctions… if I bought some land like the below (just an example below). Is there anything to stop me lending/ renting the land to someone who might want to store green waste/ building materials on it? Or do you ALWAYS need to ask the council and change the land type from residential to commercial land. I ask as you see people with all sorts in their front gardens / drives - from skips/ old cars/ building materials/ fridges etc and I assume they’ve not had to contact the council and that stuff has been there for years.


barnardmarcusauctions.co.uk/auctions/29-july-2025/625579/

Front gardens are different because the primary purpose of the overall plot is still residential home (C3)

If you want to use it for storage then you need B8 permission, if you want it for waste then Sui Generis. Unless it already has the right class of use you will have to go through the change of use process or risk fines for breaching the use 

Section62

Bartoni79 said:

Hi, I’ve seen a fair amount of land for sale at auctions… if I bought some land like the below (just an example below). Is there anything to stop me lending/ renting the land to someone who might want to store green waste/ building materials on it? Or do you ALWAYS need to ask the council and change the land type from residential to commercial land. I ask as you see people with all sorts in their front gardens / drives - from skips/ old cars/ building materials/ fridges etc and I assume they’ve not had to contact the council and that stuff has been there for years.

If the land is used to store other people's waste then in addition to planning consent you'd need to get the appropriate waste permits/licences.

Expect to spend a fortune proving that the waste won't pollute the environment, doesn't pose a fire risk, and provision will be made for the waste to be disposed of by someone else if you (or the person using the land) goes bankrupt.

"Building materials" are either valuable and someone will want to be using them rather than storing them, or else is a euphemism for "building waste" of the kind that often gets flytipped.

Land like the example is prime residential land - the probability of  getting planning consent to use it for anything other than building houses/flats is close to zero.

RAS

Plus you've got a dozen immediate neighbours and scores nearby who'll dob you in, complain about vehicle access etc, etc.

FreeBear

Section62 said:

Bartoni79 said:

Hi, I’ve seen a fair amount of land for sale at auctions… if I bought some land like the below (just an example below). Is there anything to stop me lending/ renting the land to someone who might want to store green waste/ building materials on it? Or do you ALWAYS need to ask the council and change the land type from residential to commercial land. I ask as you see people with all sorts in their front gardens / drives - from skips/ old cars/ building materials/ fridges etc and I assume they’ve not had to contact the council and that stuff has been there for years.

Land like the example is prime residential land - the probability of  getting planning consent to use it for anything other than building houses/flats is close to zero.

looking at the maps for BN21 2RF, there are two more similar shaped plots in that area - I wouldn't be at all surprised if the local council have designated them as green spaces. If that is the case, then planning permission for any change of use would be an uphill battle. You'd certainly have a fight on your hands from the local residents.

If Lewes council have got any sense, they'll get TPOs on the trees in those spaces. Whilst it won't totally scupper the prospect of development, it will increase the costs.

Section62

FreeBear said:

Section62 said:

Bartoni79 said:

Hi, I’ve seen a fair amount of land for sale at auctions… if I bought some land like the below (just an example below). Is there anything to stop me lending/ renting the land to someone who might want to store green waste/ building materials on it? Or do you ALWAYS need to ask the council and change the land type from residential to commercial land. I ask as you see people with all sorts in their front gardens / drives - from skips/ old cars/ building materials/ fridges etc and I assume they’ve not had to contact the council and that stuff has been there for years.

Land like the example is prime residential land - the probability of  getting planning consent to use it for anything other than building houses/flats is close to zero.

looking at the maps for BN21 2RF, there are two more similar shaped plots in that area - I wouldn't be at all surprised if the local council have designated them as green spaces. If that is the case, then planning permission for any change of use would be an uphill battle. You'd certainly have a fight on your hands from the local residents.

If Lewes council have got any sense, they'll get TPOs on the trees in those spaces. Whilst it won't totally scupper the prospect of development, it will increase the costs.

I agree.  I wasn't suggesting getting consent for housing would be easy, rather that it is likely to be housing or nothing.

I wouldn't totally rule out consent for residential though - it depends how desperate the LA are to meet their housing targets and what other options there are.  I've seen cases where the LA have happily allowed wide verges and green spaces like these to be opportunistically developed because it reduced their revenue costs for maintenance whilst also generating a capital receipt.  Obviously in this specific case it also depends who owns the land and what the existing maintenance responsibilities are.

lincroft1710

This is council or developer owned amenity space/land which councils/developers in many areas are trying to offload to save on maintenance costs. Don't be tempted by the low guide price, it is a white elephant, you'll be severely restricted with what you can do with the land

Bartoni79

Hi, I wasn’t interested in the piece of land but thanks for your advice! How do you find what restrictions are placed on the land if they’re not shown in the legal pack? Thanks 

lincroft1710

What does the land in question appear to be being used for? If not obvious and the legal pack is silent then the council planning dept is the next step. and they may well charge you for the info. Most councils also have development plans showing what use undeveloped land has been allocated, so what at present may be fields has been designated a future site for 1,000 home development.


2 points. 1) land is expensive and 2) auction guide prices are unrealistically pessimistic. Don't expect to pick up a bargain! 

Bartoni79

Is there a website where you can see the current land usage. I tried to check on a council website and it seemed to want to charge £250 to check…I was hoping there would be a national database containing all addresses and land usage classes? Or do you always have to pay local councils?