Land Promotion Agreements in Highlands & Islands
With promotion, you keep your land in Highlands & Islands while Land to Homes pays for the surveys, design and planning application. There is nothing to pay upfront: costs are recovered from the sale proceeds only if the land sells with planning. A minimum price agreed at the start means you are not obliged to sell below that figure.
Highlands & IslandsFree site appraisal
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- Free site appraisalNo cost, no obligation
- Legal fees coveredReasonable fees, on options and promotion
- Nothing to pay upfrontOn promotion: we fund planning
- Direct purchaseSuitable sites, with or without planning
- UK-wideEngland, Wales, Scotland and NI
Land we look at around Highlands & Islands
Across Highlands & Islands, we cover Inverness and 5 other towns, among them Fort William, Thurso and Lerwick. If your land is near a boundary, we also cover Moray, Aberdeen & Aberdeenshire and Angus & Dundee.
Typical sites we review near Highlands & Islands include farmland next to the settlement boundary, paddocks on the edge of Inverness and fields put forward or allocated in the local plan. Planning in Highlands & Islands follows Scotland’s rules: National Planning Framework 4 sets national policy and the council’s Local Development Plan sets local policy.
A postcode and a rough boundary are enough for us to start a free appraisal of land near Highlands & Islands.
Our approach in Highlands & Islands
Minimum price agreed early
The agreement sets a floor below which you cannot be required to sell. Some agreements allow it to be reviewed by an independent surveyor if the market moves during the term.
Planning work funded by us
Nothing to pay upfront: on promotion we fund the planning work. Those costs are recovered from the sale proceeds only if the land sells with planning, and the heads of terms set out exactly how that works.
Open-market sale
Once planning is secured, the land is marketed to housebuilders and other buyers, usually through an agent. The aim is genuine competition between bidders, rather than reliance on a single valuation figure.
Retained land protected
If you keep neighbouring land, the agreement can secure access and services to it, so the new scheme does not cut off the rest of your holding or limit its future use.
Planning in Highlands & Islands: the Scottish rules
If you own land on the edge of Highlands & Islands, its prospects in Scotland depend largely on the Local Development Plan, which allocates sites for housing, and on NPF4 policies such as those on local living, infrastructure and quality homes. An option or promotion agreement lets a partner fund the planning case while you keep ownership until a sale. With Land to Homes, your reasonable legal fees on these agreements are covered, with the amount agreed in the heads of terms.
In Scotland, promotion usually targets allocation in the Local Development Plan, followed by an application for planning permission in principle. Any Section 75 agreement is registered against the title. Because Scots law treats the agreement as a personal contract, the promoter's interest may be secured by a standard security, and the eventual sale is concluded by missives.
| National planning policy | National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4), which forms part of the statutory development plan |
|---|---|
| Local planning document | Local Development Plan (LDP) |
| Who decides applications | The council as planning authority (or a national park authority in its area) |
| In-principle consent | Planning permission in principle (PPP), followed by approval of matters specified in conditions |
| Land transaction tax (paid by the buyer) | Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) |
| Land registration | Registers of Scotland (Land Register of Scotland) |
| How a sale becomes binding | Land sales are concluded through missives, formal letters exchanged between solicitors that become a binding contract once concluded, followed by settlement on the date of entry and registration in the Land Register of Scotland. |
| Developer contributions | Section 75 planning obligations, with Section 69 agreements sometimes used for simple one-off payments |
Questions about Land Promotion Agreements in Highlands & Islands
Who pays if the planning application fails?
On a Land to Homes promotion agreement there is nothing to pay upfront. We fund the planning work, and our costs are recovered from the sale proceeds only if the land sells with planning. How costs are treated in every scenario is written into the heads of terms before you sign anything.
How does a land promotion agreement work?
The landowner and promoter sign an agreement for a set term. The promoter funds and runs the planning process. If permission is granted, the land is sold on the open market, provided offers meet an agreed minimum price. From the proceeds, the promoter recovers its costs and takes an agreed fee, and the landowner receives the balance.
Can a promotion agreement cover land owned by several people?
Yes. Neighbours, family members or trustees can sign one agreement, or linked agreements, often with a separate arrangement for sharing proceeds between them. This makes it easier to bring forward a larger site with a single planning strategy. Our land assembly page explains how sharing usually works.
What fee does a land promoter take?
The fee is usually a share of the sale proceeds, sometimes calculated after costs are deducted and sometimes capped. There is no standard rate: it depends on the size of the site, the planning risk and the costs involved. Ask for the fee and the cost rules to be set out clearly in the heads of terms.
Do you work with landowners in Highlands & Islands?
We do. We work with landowners across Highlands & Islands, including Fort William, Stornoway and Inverness. Send us a postcode and we will start with a free, no-obligation appraisal of what the land could take.
Read more: Land Promotion Agreements · Guide: Landowner joint ventures explained: sharing in the development