Change of use - 'How we turned designated commercial land into a residential plot for a family home'

"When you're hunting for a building plot, it's easy to think you'll stumble across a neat patch of grass with planning permission already sorted and services waiting at the boundary. In reality, that almost never happens and more often than not, the best opportunities are hidden in plain sight - old garages, barns, or even, in building expert Mark Stevenson's case, a disused post office."

"Land designation is basically how a local council classifies different pieces of land within planning policies and within its development plan. These designations determine what the land can legally be used for, for example, residential, commercial, agricultural, recreational, or protected space etc. From a planning point of view, these designations are incredibly important because they set out what the council will or won't approve. If the land isn't designated for housing, getting planning permission for a home can be anything from difficult to completely impossible."

Land designation determines how local councils classify land within planning policies and development plans and dictates permissible legal uses such as residential, commercial, agricultural, recreational, or protected. Designations guide planning approvals and can make obtaining permission for housing difficult or impossible when land is not allocated for residential use. Sites already in residential use or allocated for housing are the simplest to develop. Brownfield sites and town or village infill plots are often acceptable, with recent policy favouring brownfield redevelopment. Existing structures like garages, barns, or disused buildings can present hidden self-build opportunities, subject to designation rules.

Read at Homebuilding