Sell development land in Rochester

We consider development land in Rochester and across Kent, from sites close to the ME1 postcode district out towards Chatham and Strood.

Selling development land well depends on matching the deal to the planning position. With permission in place, an outright sale is usually simplest. Without it, a conditional contract or option can share the planning risk fairly.

Free appraisal and written offer
No commission: we're the buyer
No pressure to decide

Selling land near Rochester?

Send the postcode and a rough size.

Land around Rochester

Our appraisals for Rochester start with the ME1 postcode district and the OS grid square TQ76, then widen out to Chatham, Strood and Gillingham, all within about 2 miles.

Metropolitan Green Belt in the west, the Kent Downs and High Weald National Landscapes, and growth around Ashford, Maidstone and the Medway towns.

Town	Rochester
County	Kent
Country	England
Postcode district	ME1
OS grid square	TQ76
Nearest towns we cover	Chatham (1 mi), Strood (1 mi), Gillingham (2 mi)
Distance from Maidstone	About 8 miles north
Planning system	National Planning Policy Framework and local plan
Ways to sell	Outright, subject to planning, option or joint venture

Grass field beside the back gardens of a modern housing estate, with a field gate onto the road

What makes development land near Rochester worth an offer

A safe point of access onto a public road, or a realistic way to create one
Sites from around a quarter of an acre upwards
Land outside the highest-risk flood zones, or where flood risk can be designed out
Land with a planning history we can build on, even if earlier applications were refused

If you own a field or site on the edge of a settlement, you may be sitting on land a homebuilder wants. We look at the planning history, access and services, then tell you plainly whether we can make an offer and on what basis.

What affects the price

Planning status

Land with an implementable permission is worth far more than land with none, because the biggest risk has gone.

Number of homes

Value follows how many homes the site can sensibly take once roads, open space and drainage are fitted in.

Local sale values

The price new homes will sell for nearby sets the ceiling on what the land is worth.

Ecology and trees

Protected species, ancient hedgerows and tree preservation orders can reduce the developable area.

Four routes to a sale

Outright purchase

Best where permission is already granted and the title is clean.

Subject-to-planning sale

Lets you lock in a price now that is paid once we secure permission.

Option agreements

Suits larger fields where the planning route may take several years.

Joint ventures

Worth discussing if you want a share of the finished development value.

How a sale works

Send us the address
A postcode, a plan or a what3words location is enough to start.
We do the homework
We read the title and planning record and check flood risk and access.
We put an offer in writing
It shows how we got there. There's no obligation to accept.
The legal work
Your solicitor and ours handle the contract through to completion.

What England's rules mean for your land

Planning framework

Planning decisions in England follow the National Planning Policy Framework, revised in August 2026, and the local plan, prepared by the council or, in a national park, the park authority. Plans are reviewed periodically, which is when new housing sites are usually allocated.

Green belt and grey belt

Green belt land is protected from inappropriate development. National policy in England also recognises 'grey belt': green belt land that doesn't strongly contribute to key green belt purposes, where housing can be acceptable if further tests are met.

Section 106 and CIL

Larger schemes often need a Section 106 agreement for affordable housing or contributions, and councils that have adopted the Community Infrastructure Levy charge it per square metre of new floorspace.

When the land isn't straightforward

The site has been refused planning before

A refusal tells us what the council objected to. We read the decision notice and judge whether a different scheme could answer it.

The access is over someone else's land

We check the title for rights of way and, where needed, factor in the cost of buying or negotiating access.

Useful to send us

A rough size, in acres or hectares
A plan, or a screenshot from an online map
Your title number, if you know it
How soon you'd ideally like to sell

Questions from landowners near Rochester

How do I know if my land is development land?

Ask three questions: does it sit next to existing homes, can a car get onto it safely from a public road, and is it outside the worst flood risk? If the answer to all three is yes, it is worth an appraisal. We will tell you honestly if we don't think homes are achievable.

Do you buy development land without planning permission?

Yes. Without permission we usually buy on a subject-to-planning contract or an option, so the price reflects value with permission rather than farmland value. If you need a quick, unconditional sale, we can also make an outright offer that reflects the planning risk.

What size of site do you buy?

We look at sites from around a quarter of an acre for a single plot up to large fields on the edge of towns. Size matters less than location, access and planning prospects.

Do you buy land in Rochester?

Yes. We consider land in and around Rochester and across Kent. Whether we can make an offer depends on the land itself, especially its access and planning prospects, and we'll tell you either way.

Get a straight answer about your land

A free appraisal tells you what we'd pay and why.

Get an offer Call 0800 088 6248