Our approach

Our team’s experience and insight help landowners make informed, strategic decisions about the future of their land.

As specialists in the promotion and delivery of strategic land, whether Green Belt or brownfield, large or small, we work to ensure our clients realise the full potential of their assets.

We assess the local residential market to understand a site’s development prospects, identify potential constraints, and advise on the most appropriate planning strategy and realistic timescales for securing planning permission.

Mac Mic Land works in partnership with landowners, acting as a dedicated land promoter throughout the planning and sales process.

Our role is to maximise land value in a clear, straightforward, and low-stress way. We do this by promoting sites through formal Land Promotion Agreements and taking them to the open market once planning permission is secured.

By obtaining planning consent ahead of sale, we ensure land is presented to housebuilders at the point of highest value and market interest. Since 2010, our team has successfully promoted sites with capacity for over 2,500 new homes.

Planning Promotion Agreements

When land is identified as having development potential, our team draws on its planning expertise, local knowledge, technical experience, and industry relationships to advise landowners on the most effective route to maximise value.

Our success is built on long-term, transparent partnerships with landowners, typically formalised through Land Promotion Agreements (also called Planning Promotion Agreements). These agreements provide a clear framework for working together and underpin the trust landowners place in us.

From our experience, Land Promotion Agreements are often the most efficient way for landowners to access the expertise, funding, and time required to navigate the planning system and secure permission.

Under a Land Promotion Agreement, Mac Mic Land is contractually committed to promoting the land in close collaboration with the landowner, with the shared objective of securing planning consent.

Once permission is achieved, we work alongside the landowner to market the site openly and manage the sale to a residential developer, aiming to achieve the best possible outcome for the landowner.

Other Options 

There are alternative routes available to landowners, and in some cases they may be appropriate. However, experience shows these options are often less effective than Land Promotion Agreements in managing risk, timescales, and maximising value.

Going it alone

A landowner may pursue planning permission independently and then appoint a developer. While this offers control, it can be costly and time-consuming. Technical work to support a planning application can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds, and success is not guaranteed—particularly on strategic sites.

Conditional sale agreements

These agreements legally oblige a developer to purchase the land once planning permission is secured. In practice, developers are often hesitant to commit where planning outcomes, costs, or timescales are uncertain, which can limit competition and reduce value.

Option agreements

Option agreements give a developer the right to buy land within a set period. If not exercised, the land may remain dormant for years. If exercised, the land may not have been marketed openly, making it harder to establish its true value.

By contrast, Land Promotion Agreements are designed to keep land competitive, share risk appropriately, and ensure the site is brought to the open market once planning permission is secured.

We develop clear, considered strategies to unlock the full value of land by securing the appropriate planning consents.

We support landowners at every stage of the planning process, guiding you through what can otherwise be a complex and uncertain journey.

We remove much of the financial risk from land promotion by funding the planning process ourselves and only being rewarded once planning permission is secured and the land is sold. There is no upfront cost to the landowner.

Our specialists have a deep understanding of the ever-changing planning system and a strong track record of successfully securing planning permission.

Where We Work

We are strategic land promoters with projects across England and Scotland, with a particular focus in recent years on the South East and South West of England.

We identify the most effective route to planning through the plan-making process in the short, medium and longer term, and provide clear advice on the steps required at each stage.

For larger schemes involving multiple landowners, we help structure delivery to maximise value, manage complexity and, where appropriate, mitigate tax exposure. We also work constructively with neighbouring landowners to help smooth the planning process.

Whether your site is large or small, our advice and strategies are tailored to your specific objectives.

Our Approach

Our thorough and methodical approach allows sites to progress through the planning system as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Land promotion may involve securing an allocation through a Local Plan or submitting an early planning application where a local authority cannot demonstrate a sufficient supply of housing land. We advise on the most appropriate strategy based on policy, market conditions and risk.

We have a strong understanding of how planning policy interacts with sustainability objectives and wider environmental, social and economic priorities set by government and local authorities. Crucially, we understand how these ambitions can be delivered through realistic, policy-compliant development proposals.

This insight underpins our approach to influencing local planning policy and land-use decisions.

Experience You Can Rely On

Our experience spans a wide range of sites, from small infill opportunities to large-scale strategic land and mixed-use schemes, including garden communities delivering thousands of new homes.

Most of the land we promote is for residential development, with site sizes typically ranging from five to over 350 acres. Sites of around 15 acres often deliver 150 homes or more, depending on location and policy context.

Our team includes chartered surveyors and planners with extensive 
experience across land acquisition, planning, promotion and delivery. This provides landowners with a joined-up, single-team approach focused on maximising value while considering long-term legacy.

Working With Us

Landowners partner with us knowing their land is being promoted with care, rigour and commercial awareness. If you are a landowner, or advising one, and would like to explore the development potential of a site, we would be pleased to discuss how we can help.

Effective community engagement is central to how we promote land and progress sites through the planning system.

By managing consultation with local residents, stakeholders and decision-makers, we help reduce planning risk and support a smoother route to planning permission. Our role is to lead this process on your behalf—giving your site the best chance of success while minimising the time, complexity and pressure placed on landowners.

We approach engagement as a practical and purposeful part of planning, not a box-ticking exercise. Building understanding and trust at an early stage helps communities see how a proposal can respond to local needs and contribute positively to the area. This, in turn, supports better planning outcomes and long-term value.

Our objective is to engage a broad and representative cross-section of the community, including the “silent majority”, to gain a balanced understanding of local priorities and concerns. We use this insight to help shape proposals that are robust, deliverable and sensitive to their surroundings. By fronting the engagement process, we also take the strain away from landowners, allowing you to remain focused on your core interests.

Our approach

We believe that early, well-managed dialogue is key to unlocking a site’s potential. Working closely with local authorities, councillors, community representatives and residents, we help bring forward proposals that are both policy-compliant and locally informed.

We recognise that change can raise questions as well as opportunities. Our approach is to listen carefully, explain proposals clearly, and address issues that matter most locally—such as transport, flooding, education, healthcare or environmental considerations.

Engagement begins early in the process, helping people understand how a development could evolve and what benefits it may bring. Where appropriate, we refine proposals in response to constructive feedback. Where changes are not possible, we provide clear and reasoned explanations.

We use a combination of traditional consultation methods and digital platforms to ensure engagement is accessible, inclusive and proportionate to the scale of the site.

Our team

Our team has extensive experience delivering community and stakeholder engagement across a wide range of sites in both England and Scotland. We are a trusted presence in the areas where we work and take our responsibility to landowners and communities seriously. Effective engagement underpins everything we do and plays a key role in securing successful planning outcomes.

Guiding your land from planning success to market sale

Securing Consent to Maximise Value

We manage sites through the critical decision-making stages of the planning process before bringing land to the open market at the point of greatest value.

By securing allocation or planning permission ahead of sale, we position your land to attract strong competition from housebuilders and developers. Our objective is simple: achieve the best possible outcome for you.

No Upfront Cost

Under our promotion model, there is no upfront financial burden. We fund and manage the planning process on your behalf, allowing you to focus on your core activities while we navigate policy, technical work and consultation.

Creating Competitive Tension

The difference in value between land with planning permission and land without can be substantial. By obtaining planning consent before sale and exposing the site to the open market, we create transparency and competitive tension, helping to ensure you achieve full market value rather than a price set by a single purchaser.

Managing Risk and Delivering Certainty

The planning process is complex and often lengthy. Our experience enables us to manage risk, reduce delays and provide clarity at every stage. Once permission is secured, we oversee a structured marketing process designed to deliver certainty and a successful sale.