If you’d like to buy a small parcel of land from the council (for parking or gardening use, such as putting up a shed or garage) please contact hraland@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.
Purchasing land is an expensive process and, due to the amount of consultations required, requests can take a few months to process. At the end of the process you will be told if the land is available for sale. If you can buy it, you will then be advised on the full procedure to purchase and be informed in writing of the current price for the plot.
It is normal to pay many thousands of pounds for even a very small area of land in the city, as Portsmouth land is valuable. Also, you will be responsible for paying all our costs, such as legal and planning costs which normally start at around £500 for a small parcel. Occasionally, we may ask you to pay these costs up front.
Planning permission for a change of use is often required for land sales.
If you wish to buy land, please email us with the following details:
- A basic drawing of the area you wish to buy
- What you want to use the land for (this is important)
- Explain any works you want to do (like fencing/resurfacing)
- Photographs can help
Process
- We will confirm if land is ours or not.
- If it is, we will carry our a site visit to see if there are any obvious obstacles to selling (like lamp posts in the land). We will also carry out our consultations at the same time.
- If we cannot sell, we will let you know why.
- Sometimes the processes can involve other residents in the area. We have to consider local people’s views, so may have to write to them to see if anyone objects to your proposals or if they want to buy the land themselves.
- If we cannot sell, we will let you know why.
- In some circumstances we will only be able to sell the land via public sale (usually by a bids process)
- Where enquiries reach the offer stage, all offers we make are subject to contract and without prejudice. Offers, usually, are valid for 12 months to give you enough time to carry out associated surveys or apply for planning permission to change the use.
- At this point, if you need planning permission for change of use you would need to apply and pay all associated costs. Follow the links for information on submitting a planning application in Portsmouth or for land in Havant (such as Leigh Park).
- If planning permission is granted, you can accept our offer by email and appoint a solicitor. After accepting, we pass the sale to our legal team for preparation of the deed, and to complete the sale. The legal process takes around 8-16 weeks. Payment is due near the end of the process.
To enquire about larger areas of land or potential development sites, please email commercialpropertyforsale@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.