Know what it takes before you’re committed.
An appraisal costs a fraction of the site and answers the only question that matters: what will actually get consent here, and what will it cost to get it?
Is this you?
What’s involved
The pre-purchase appraisal
Before exchange, you want the honest version: designations, planning history, constraint layers, policy position, the authority’s recent behaviour on comparable schemes, and any live enforcement or condition issues attached to the land.
Planning history is the most underrated part of that list. A site with two refusals and a dismissed appeal is a different proposition from a clean one, and the reasons given last time tell you exactly what you’ll be arguing about.
Capacity
Not “how many units fit” — how many will consent. Those are different numbers, and the second one is the one your appraisal should be built on.
A scheme optimised for the drawing and not for the decision is the most common reason a site underdelivers.
Plan-making — and there’s a live opportunity locally
BCP Council has no adopted up-to-date Local Plan. The draft was withdrawn in June 2025, and a replacement is being prepared under the new plan-making system. For anyone holding land in Bournemouth, Christchurch or Poole, that is a window rather than a problem.
New plans mean new calls for sites, new evidence base, new allocations — and representations made properly during preparation carry weight that objections at application stage never will.
Proof
The most persuasive case note here is an appraisal that talked a client out of a purchase. Buyers of this service are buying scepticism.
Questions we’re asked
How long does an appraisal take?
Days for a desk-based read on a straightforward site. Longer where there’s complicated planning history or constraints needing specialist input.
Can you tell me if it’s worth buying?
We can tell you what will and won’t get consent, what it will cost to pursue, and how long it’ll take. The valuation judgement is yours or your agent’s — we give you the planning half of it.
Does BCP not having a Local Plan help or hurt me?
It changes how decisions get made — more weight on national policy and on the evidence in front of the officer. It does mean well-evidenced applications do better than they otherwise would.
Should we be making representations to the new plan?
If you’re holding land with any development prospect, almost certainly. It’s the cheapest planning work you’ll ever do relative to what it can be worth, and the window is open now.
Send us the address and what you’re planning to pay.
We’ll tell you what the site will take, what it’ll cost to consent, and whether the numbers work — before you’re committed.
Appraise a site