Sale of St Albans land for 150 new homes
July 15, 2024
A multi-million pound deal has been agreed for the sale of residential land with outline planning permission for up to 150 new homes at a greenbelt site in Hertfordshire, leading commercial property consultancy Kirkby Diamond announced today.
The landmark St Albans site attracted significant interest from national and regional house builders due to its excellent location and proximity to local amenities.
National housebuilder Cala Homes has acquired the site at Harpenden Road for an undisclosed sum. Kirkby Diamond acted for the Sewell Trust in disposal of the 12.95-acre parcel of land.
Kirkby Diamond was involved in the early stages of the site’s progression, ensuring the client’s objectives were met, said Andrew Wright, senior partner and head of land, planning and development at Kirkby Diamond.
“The sale of the Harpenden Road site in St Albans is just one of a number of sites we have worked on and brought to the market over the last 18 months, at a time when the market has been subdued due to the increased cost of borrowing and inflation.
“However, St Albans proved to be the exception to the general trend and we received unprecedented levels of interest in the site and competitive bids from more than 15 prospective purchasers. The offers we received from bidders were of a very high standard which is testament to the standout quality of the site and the technical information we provided.
“The bid from Cala was very well prepared and presented, ultimately making the decision easier and they were excellent to deal with throughout the pre and post contract negotiations,” he added.
The site was promoted by Hunston Developments who obtained outline planning permission in 2021 and defeated a legal challenge to the permission in 2022. The site was, consequently, sold with the benefit of outline planning permission for up to 150 dwellings.
Despite a number of recent consents allowed on appeal, St Albans still has a significant shortage of housing shown by its five-year land supply (assessed at 1.93 years as of March 2023).
Andrew added: “Kirkby Diamond is pleased to have been able to deliver this excellent development to the market and to achieve an outstanding result for our client at a time when the market had regressed following the short lived Truss administration in 2022.”
Kirkby Diamond continues to act for landowners within Hertfordshire to deliver further opportunities to the market. The department enjoys an extensive client base of landowners, developers, family trusts and public sector clients, along with an unrivalled reputation throughout Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire for client focus and the drive to ensure timely completion of deals.
The firm is actively involved in the identification and promotion of sites for residential and commercial development throughout the northern Home Counties and represents landowners in all aspects of land promotion and development and the valuation and appraisal of sites and development opportunities.