Land acquisition is an increasingly complex issue. There is fierce competition for prime sites and the rest of the business depends on the land team to supply enough sites for meet build targets. However, each site poses unique questions. Is there a flooding issue? What about affordability? If it is a brownfield site, is the soil contaminated? The Land team has to take all these factors into account when assessing the commercial viability of sites.
It calls for a constant balance between managing risks and moving fast. We need to acquire sites with a clear understanding of potential they have. Yet at the same time, we need to be agile enough to stay ahead of the competition. Often, that can even mean securing land before it has planning permission – and that means another set of unknown factors that impact on the Land team.
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