Selling a paddock for development

By Iain Forster, The Land Buyer. Last reviewed 2026-10-05.

In shortA paddock beside a village boundary is the classic small development site: half an acre to three acres, a gate onto the road, already surrounded by houses on one or two sides. The questions are whether the council's plan treats it as inside or beside the settlement, whether it floods and how it is reached. We check all three free in ten days.

Nobody has written this page in Britain, which tells you how often paddocks are sold without anyone asking what they could be worth. A paddock is grazing land of a size too small to farm. It is kept for horses, sheep or because it came with the house. Many of them sit on the edge of a village, between the last houses and the open fields, which is exactly where local plans look for small sites.

The three questions

Where the boundary is. Every village has a settlement boundary in the local plan. Inside it the principle of homes is accepted. Touching it, an application can succeed on the village's housing need and the site's merits. Well outside it, there is no route for market homes and we will say so.
Water. A paddock by a stream is often in a flood zone. The Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales maps say so in a minute.
The gate. A field gate onto a lane needs visibility in both directions and a width for cars to pass. Where the only way in is through your own drive, that drive becomes the access and is measured.

What it is worth

As grazing, a few thousand pounds an acre. With planning for homes, a great deal more. The gap is what an option agreement shares with you. How a developer works out the figure.

What about the horses

They stay until completion. Under an option agreement the land is yours and in your use until the sale, which is usually twelve to twenty four months after signing.

Straight answers

Can I sell my paddock for building?

If it touches or sits inside a village boundary, has a usable gate onto the road and is not in a flood zone, there is a real chance. We check those three things free in ten days and tell you straight.

How big does a paddock need to be to sell for development?

About half an acre takes two or three homes in a village. One to three acres is the size most small housebuilders want.

Can I keep my horses on the paddock while planning is applied for?

Yes. Under an option or promotion agreement the land stays in your use until the sale completes.

Tell us about your land

Tell us the postcode. We do the rest at our cost and come back to you within ten days.