Inside Property Development (Paul Higgs)

For this episode, Paul is joined by Henry Bliss of Give My View, the app that makes it far easier for developers to engage with communities, find and motivate potential project supporters and effectively deal with any local objections. It creates surveys that are fast and easy to complete. Ensuring all voices are heard, rather than just the NIMBY view.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Traditional consultation methods only hear from a vocal minority, usually older people with time, which drowns out the perspectives of the broader community.
• Give My View makes it really easy for anyone to have a say and can be used at any stage of project development.
• Providing feedback only takes a few minutes and is available across all devices.
  The Give My View team can help developers to ask the right questions in a format
  that encourages honest and useful answers.
• If you ask people – Do you want this here? Most will automatically say no. It´s human nature to say no to change. So, don´t ask that type of question.
  Using social media ads to ask people to take part enables you to target people in a very specific area.
• Be concise, often people will be filling out the survey in the few minutes they get
  between tasks.

BEST MOMENTS
“You are able to speak to the silent majority, so people who aren't against change, people
who aren't NIMBYs (get a voice too).”
“We can engage with 1000s of people if the project scope allows.”
“With a small marketing budget, we can bring 1000s of new eyeballs to your survey ads.”
“People have a greater connection to things they help build.”
“Once people use us, they come back because they see the benefit.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
https://www.givemyview.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/henry-bliss-969b933b

ABOUT THE HOST
 
Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planningconsents.
Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group.
In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 
Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.
 
CONTACT METHOD
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs
Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment

Watch the full episode here.

In this episode, Paul is joined by Dave Hughes of Fuse Architects to talk about the role architects play in the UK housing market, including why the way many of them work is holding back progress. Dave´s focus is on delivering affordable housing. He shares the challenges the sector faces and the innovative approaches they are using to overcome them, including temporary planning permission and modular housing.

They also discuss training for planning committee members, policy changes that would speed up the planning process, housing targets and overcoming the fear that is preventing the change that is needed.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Despite being well-trained a lot of UK architects are actually not that good at coming up with practical, liveable and deliverable designs and solutions.

• Architects are just part of a team. But many see themselves as somehow especially important or more professional.

• Often planners and policymakers ask for things without thinking about the negative impact delivering them will have. They don´t take a balanced approach.

• At the moment planners and committees just think that all developers are greedy liars.

• Even when you tick every planning box and meet every regulation too many planning committees are still not giving permission.

• High land prices make many 50% affordable housing developments impossible to deliver.

• Some councils are now giving temporary planning permission for modular housing.

BEST MOMENTS

“We only draw what we can build. We are very strict about buildability in our business.”

“Many planners and policymakers don't realize that, by asking and trying to demand everything, they actually end up with nothing.”

“I think one of the big issues in development generally, is viability.”

“A good committee is one that says - our policy, that we've all signed up to, says that they can do this thing, and therefore we have to say yes to it.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://www.fusearchitects.co.uk

https://www.buildingwithnature.org.uk

https://boutiquemodern.co.uk

Jackie Weaver story - https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60374800

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment

Listen to the full episode on YouTube here

Paul discusses the major hurdles facing house building developers today. From land scarcity to planning complexities, labour shortages to rising costs, Paul paints a vivid picture of an industry under pressure. But it's not all doom and gloom – he also touches on sustainable development practices and the potential for collaboration to create better homes and communities.

Sponsored by LandTech: Source faster. Plan faster. Work faster. LandTech provides software to streamline the property development process and get the right deals done.

Claim your free trial of LandInsight: https://land.tech/ipd-free-trial 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Land availability and planning issues are the two biggest barriers to growth for developers, accounting for about 40% each of reported problems.
• The planning system has become increasingly complex and under-resourced, leading to significant delays and hindering housing development.
• Labour shortages due to inadequate training and apprenticeships have made construction more challenging in recent years.
• Rising costs of materials and procurement issues have impacted the viability of many development projects.
• New environmental standards and regulations, while necessary, add further cost and complexity to the development process.
• Sustainable development and building with nature are becoming increasingly important in the industry.
• Collaboration between various stakeholders is crucial for creating better homes and communities.
• The podcast aims to bring together experts from across the industry to discuss solutions for creating much-needed housing in the right way.

BEST MOMENTS

"Land and planning are the problems and they always have been. Now, if you've got the right land and the right planning, any finance challenges tends to go away."

"Planning in particular is now worse in my opinion than it's ever been, certainly in my 40 years in the business, so the complexity of it is off the scale."

"Building stuff didn't use to be as difficult, actually. If you were a good builder and you knew what you were doing then building was the easy bit, to a large extent. Now, even that's not so easy."

"I'm now very much into super sustainable development and building with nature so I've been applying all of this for the last few years to all of my developments."

"We'll learn together how we can collaborate rather than fight and by working together we can all help create better places, spaces and homes and a much more beautiful world."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track-record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multi-million pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group.  

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development, to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs/?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Egoogle%2Ecom%2F&originalSubdomain=uk

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

In this episode of the Inside Property Podcast, Paul talks about developing your ability to get deals done. Explaining how to get things to stack up so that you and anyone else involved in the deal can make enough profit to be able to repeat the process and continue to create the buildings and homes the UK so desperately needs. The advice he shares in this episode is applicable whether you are developing sites yourself or adding value then selling them on. 

He lists out the main challenges you need to overcome and shares a simple way for you to learn how to do it.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The first challenge is finding opportunities with minimal competition.

• Putting together profitable development deals is a skill set that can be learned.

• Paul has analysed all of his successful deals and those of other developers he knows and developed a step-by-step process that anyone can use to do the same.

• Properly assessing the potential of a site before you buy is an essential skill.

• The most important skill is being able to maximise the value of a piece of land. When you can do this, you can create no-brainer deals that are hard for landowners to resist.

• Being able to get a project through planning and knowing how to source funding are also essential.

• Understanding the motivations and goals of the landowner will help you put together a tempting deal.

BEST MOMENTS

“Quickly assessing the potential without wasting a whole load of time and money is really important.”

“The bigger the overall value pie you create, the better.”

“You need to have your exit in mind before you even start, because that will influence what you do in the early stages.”

“If you can't get them (the landowners) on board, you're never going to get a deal done.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

£1 Option Agreements  episode - https://www.ivoox.com/1-option-agreements-audios-mp3_rf_136544437_1.html

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment

For this episode, Paul is joined by AJ Shome director of Founthill Land Planning and Development, a highly successful SME property developer who, in 2013, was one of Paul´s first mentees. They sit down to discuss the trials and tribulations they and others face getting planning permission and getting things built. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

•    The time it takes to get a deal done is causing major issues for developers.                    Including forcing them to use less than ideal financing options.
•    Developers need to be thick-skinned, innovative and persistent.
•    Some of the restrictions developers face, are nonsensical e.g. AJ was asked to              spend £100k to build a new access road to 4 homes that were already raised                above flood risk levels.
•    Consultees often say no to things they could pass largely because of a lack of              experience.
•    Constantly changing legislation leaves developers wasting time trying to adapt.
•    The new NPPF changes, the grey belt, will open up a lot of opportunities. But the          level of local resistance to such developments is still crazy high.
•    Planning is too much of a game of cat and mouse, which wastes everyone´s time         and money. Money that could be spent making the development better.
•    GDV levels have dropped by nearly half.

BEST MOMENTS
“From that time onwards, I’ve pretty much done the Paul Higgs model in terms of land planning and development.”
“Every developer seems to be in a position where they're having to look at exit finance.”
“Now, so often, it's “computer says no”.”
“I've just had to submit three different variants of class Q in order to get this fallback.”
“We sound very doom and gloom, but our success record is extremely high.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
https://www.founthill.com

ABOUT THE HOST 
Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.
Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 
In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 
Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.
 
CONTACT METHOD
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs
Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment

Watch the full episode on YouTube here

Join Paul Higgs, an experienced property developer with 40 years of experience, as he launches the "Inside Property Development" podcast. This first episode sets the stage for an insightful journey into the complexities of the housing market and property development. Paul aims to bridge gaps, foster collaboration, and unravel the challenges facing the industry. With a focus on supporting SME developers, this podcast promises to be an essential resource for anyone interested in creating better homes and spaces!

Sponsored by LandTech: Source faster. Plan faster. Work faster. LandTech provides software to streamline the property development process and get the right deals done.

Claim your free trial of LandInsight: https://land.tech/ipd-free-trial 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The housing market faces significant challenges, including affordability issues and a complex planning system.
• Collaboration between all stakeholders in property development is crucial for solving industry problems.
• SME developers and smaller house builders are declining due to the increasing complexity of the planning system.
• Paul aims to provide insights from various industry professionals to improve understanding and cooperation.
• Paul emphasises the need to support and train SME developers to navigate the current challenging environment.
• The show will explore ways to create good quality, sustainable housing in the right locations.
• Understanding different perspectives within the industry is key to overcoming confrontational attitudes.
  
  

BEST MOMENTS

"I'm really interested in helping get the housing crisis solved. The way to do that, I believe, is to get inside, behind and all around property development to understand how it really works and therefore what the problems are and how we can all solve them together."

"There shouldn't actually be any sides in this. I believe we should all be working together in order to help get good housing and commercial space as well and places and spaces created."

"Just being a good builder was no longer and still is no longer good enough. You also now have to be an absolute expert on planning and getting through all of the Red tape and complications that you have to deal with nowadays."

"We'll learn together how we can collaborate rather than fight and by working together we can all help create better places, spaces and homes and a much more beautiful world."

"I'm going to be talking to developers of all sizes and all of the other people involved in the process."

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track-record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group.  

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development, to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs/?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Egoogle%2Ecom%2F&originalSubdomain=uk 

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

To watch the full episode on YouTube, click here

In this episode, Paul is joined by Kevin Ellis, the founder of The Land and New Homes Network. After just 8 years he is working with over 100 UK estate agents across 450+ locations. Helping them to pull plots of land that are owned by different owners into a package of land that is big enough for a developer to build on (land assembly) and finding the right developer.

Kevin explains how land assembly works, how to spot opportunities, and how to deal with unrealistic landowner expectations. They also discuss why builders do not bank land and the issues that are stifling including affordable, net zero and sustainable housing in developments.

Sponsored by LandTech:

Source faster. Plan faster. Work faster. LandTech provides software to streamline the property development process and get the right deals done.

Claim your free trial of LandInsight: https://land.tech/ipd-free-trial 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Land assembly is the process of combining two or more small adjacent plots into a single parcel. Plots that are then big enough to be developed.
• Estate agents are in the perfect position to spot land assembly opportunities.
• Off-market deals are a good way for small developers and builders to source the land to provide good-quality housing.
• Often, explaining how much the houses will cost to build is the best way to manage landowners' unrealistic expectations.
• Fully assessing not only what the land can be used for but also whether there actually will be a market for it by the time the houses are complete is essential.
• Agents collaborating with developers to source and develop land is a huge win-win for them and the community they are working in.

BEST MOMENTS

“Land is literally the lifeblood of the industry. Without land, there is no development”

“The amount of people who just don´t understand land economics just amazes me.”

“Educating landowners is actually a massive part of the process.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://www.lnhnetwork.co.uk/

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group.  

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial

Watch the full episode here.

In this episode, Paul talks to the well-known architect Heinz Richardson who was also a director of Jestico + Whiles where he worked for 33 years. They discuss sustainable development, climate change, social justice and why the UK´s planning system is broken. 

They also discuss how architects and developers can work more closely together to improve the housing stock and overcome the problems that are holding the UK back.

Sponsored by LandTech:

Source faster. Plan faster. Work faster. LandTech provides software to streamline the property development process and get the right deals done.

Claim your free trial of LandInsight: https://land.tech/millbank-referral

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• For Heinz there has always been a strong connection between architects, the social environment and climate.

• Jestico +Whiles pioneered the employee-owned company structure for architects. Heinz explains how and why they went down that route.

• The House for the Future at The Museum of Life was built 25+ years ago using only building materials sourced within a 25-mile radius.

• With climate change, we have reached the point where we can´t stop it, now we need to work on mitigating it and dealing with the effects.

• Reusing what we have already extracted is vital.

• Despite his 30+ years’ experience Heinz was refused planning permission for his hyper-eco-friendly family home, which when built won awards. The planning system is broken.

• Even in conservative areas, people are open to and want innovative housing.

• Some planning authorities are becoming more discerning, but it is still hard to shift perceptions and deal with prejudices.
• Homes don´t need to be ostentatious to be desirable.

BEST MOMENTS

“John Wiles devised this fantastic scoring system that was brilliant. It measured people's contribution to the practice in 10 different fields.”

“If you do something, you should be able to disassemble it and use it again.”

“The irony of this refusal is that this was the 1st time I’d ever been refused planning in my whole career.” (planning permission for his family home)

“A lot of housing is quantum; it is about maths in the end.”

RESOURCES

https://www.instagram.com/heinzr54/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/heinz-richardson-2b804aa/

https://museum.wales/media/5039/hotf.pdf

Amory Lovins - https://rmi.org/about/office-locations/amory-private-residence/

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group.  

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial

Watch the full episode on YouTube here

In this episode, Paul is joined by Henry Mayell, one of his business partners. Henry is the co-founder and COO of Viability, a software platform that enables homebuilders to quickly and accurately assess the viability of a potential development opportunity. 

They discuss how Viability software enables developers to look at any site and quickly work out what type of homes, if any, can be profitably built on it. It can also be used to educate planners and legislators so they can quickly see how each of the additional things they ask for impacts the viability of the development. Henry also explains how Viability will help developers meet the new Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) targets.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Viability provides a step-by-step process and software to enable developers to very quickly produce an accurate development appraisal for any site. Once the relevant parameters have been fed in, the report takes seconds to generate.

• Viability software can also be a good education tool. It enables policymakers, planners and developers to quickly assess the cost impact of any proposed regulation changes.

• The software easily demonstrates to planners the impact each change they want has on costs and whether it is still viable to build on that site.

• Viability uses real-world market data, so planners are not left suspecting that the developer is trying to pull the wool over their eyes.

• Viability helps developers identify the right Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) for each project.

• What materials you use should be an integral part of the design process.

• Provided you choose the right type of MMC for each site and deploy it properly, MMC is not more expensive. 
• Viability also provides early stage BNG assessments, allowing developers to understand if the biodiversity in a specific site makes it unviable.

BEST MOMENTS

“Viability gives you an automated development appraisal … in seconds, rather than in days or weeks.”

“Ultimately, to deliver the homes, we need developers to find viable development opportunities.”

“It's actually about  which MMC solution is suitable for your site and allows you to maximize its potential.”

“When planners try to demand everything, all that happens is things become unviable, and they don't get anything at all.”

ABOUT THE GUEST

https://viability.site

The Times article

https://geovation.uk

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment

In this episode, Paul talks to Saam Lowni a highly successful property entrepreneur who now specialises in providing innovative property finance solutions for investors and developers. Saam has been passionate about property from a very young age, so much so that he worked on building sites, with developers and in real estate offices, sometimes for free, to learn as much as he could.
He and Paul discuss his journey, including weathering the 2008 financial crisis and switching from development to becoming a finance broker. They also discuss high yielding income producing assets, making a profit in a tight market and financing options.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The property market is cyclical, it regularly goes from boom to bust. Sometimes the cycle is long, other times short. Build a robust business to weather the storms.
• Having high yielding income producing assets in your portfolio enables you to keep up with payments regardless of financial crisis.
• Property is a marathon, not a sprint.
• You have to evolve, spot the trends early and change promptly.
  Currently, developers cannot rely on house prices rising enough to cover issues and costs that they have not planned for.

BEST MOMENTS
“S**t like this can, does and will happen, it always has. Boom, bust happens.”
“If you don't have a high yielding, income producing asset, you are going to get caught out.”
“To be a developer, you need to know your local area and who the landowners are.”
“Finance is becoming much more of a problem.”
“A proper margin, in my opinion, is at least 20% of GDV.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
sam@merryoaks.com
https://www.facebook.com/saamlowni
https://www.linkedin.com/in/saamlowni
https://www.instagram.com/saamlowni

ABOUT THE HOST 
Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.
Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group.
In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 
Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.
 
CONTACT METHOD
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs
Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment

In this episode, Paul talks to Oli Lowrie, the director and co-founder of Ackroyd Lowrie Architects. He and his co-founder John Ackroyd believe that architecture is too siloed. They are entrepreneurs as well as architects, they do not simply stay in their lane. Instead, they anticipate the issues projects typically face and create designs that enable developers to more easily get around these problems.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Make sure you always work with the best consultants.
• The shifting legislative framework is leading to plans needing to be reworked and  resubmitted.
• Most legislators do not see the bigger picture, so don´t fully understand the impact changes have.
• There are now financial benefits to taking a sustainable approach.
• The government still needs to do a lot to make the market viable for developers.
• Oli shares examples of how to turn office spaces into housing.
• The new BSA is going to lead to architects’ fees going up. Oli explains why.

BEST MOMENTS
“We are entrepreneurs who just happen to be able to design buildings.”
“Architecture is a little bit too siloed, and architects tend to stay in their lane and just think about designing buildings.”
“Harlow is a really interesting place…Dan Sword is very committed to transforming Harlow.”
“Most people are just looking at it through their little lens. They don't understand the bigger picture.”
“Sustainability can be used to produce a better ROI.”
“Lots of people get tempted to go for the cheaper stuff, but it's dangerous.”

ABOUT THE GUEST
https://www.ackroydlowrie.com

ABOUT THE HOST 
Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.
Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 
In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 
Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.
 
CONTACT METHOD
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs
Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment

Watch the full episode on YouTube here.

In this episode, Paul talks to Wyn Evans, a founding partner at Shared Voice and co-creator of the highly successful Just Build Homes movement. They discuss successfully navigating the planning process. As a former councillor and planner,  Wyn knows why the planning process often fails. To address these issues, he and his team have developed innovative ways to engage the community in a positive way. This innovative approach means that when your project is considered for planning, local people support the project instead of opposing it.

Sponsored by LandTech:

Source faster. Plan faster. Work faster. LandTech provides software to streamline the property development process and get the right deals done.

Claim your free trial of LandInsight: https://land.tech/ipd-free-trial

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Planning decisions are heavily influenced by politics. Councillors need votes, so if they think the majority is against development gaining permission is difficult.
• Polls show that the majority of people actually support development.
• Human nature means that those who are opposed to your development will attend any meetings. When councillors see this their perception is that the majority are opposed.
• Talking to people about their housing aspirations fuels their desire for you to build more homes in their area.
• Some older people with a NIMBY mindset can be persuaded by the fact their children are more likely to be able to afford to live nearby.
• Many older people want to downsize, so point out that your development helps meet those needs.
• Focus more on communication, rather than consultation.
• Understand the pressure councillors are under and work to minimise that.
• The new government is now pushing councils to approve more housing.
• Once you have built, invite councillors to have a look.

BEST MOMENTS

“For the last 40 years, planning policies have all been driven by the attitudes of the public.”

“If 100 people are supporting a scheme, regardless of how many objections there are, it is much easier (for a councillor) to support that scheme.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://sharedvoice.co.uk

https://justbuildhomes.co.uk

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment

Watch the full episode here. 

In this episode, Paul talks with Trevor Thorn the founder of Thorn Homes. He was a self-employed roofer, who became a property developer and established a roofing firm. Trevor uses private equity funding instead of borrowing from the banks, he explains why and how he does this.

They also discuss meeting the challenges that the current planning system in the UK throws up, tax planning, net zero builds, new building regs, and modular construction techniques. Trevor also touches on how he uses LandInsight, private investors, and certain FMB products.

Sponsored by LandTech:

Source faster. Plan faster. Work faster. LandTech provides software to streamline the property development process and get the right deals done.

Claim your free trial of LandInsight: https://land.tech/ipd-free-trial

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Educate yourself about tax and VAT. Not getting your company structure and deals right can cost you dearly.
• If you need to get someone to build for you choose the right person, which means being prepared to pay them the right money.
• Borrowing from banks has downsides, including the danger of having development funding pulled before the project is complete. Paul and Trevor share several examples during the episode of companies that lost everything because of this.
• If you do borrow from banks, don´t just use one company. You are putting all of your eggs in one basket.
• Even when you buy a plot with planning the margins are incredibly tight, so costs must be controlled, which is why Trevor builds his properties using his own team.
• Planning now takes at least 12 months in most parts of the UK. Allow at least 27 months to get something built.
• Managing landowner's expectations and educating them on how it all works is part of the art of getting off-market deals done on sensible terms,
• The Federation of Small Builders (FMB) offers some powerful products developers can use. Including a warranty that the banks like and insurance.

BEST MOMENTS

“I don't fund anything with banks.”

“Your business should be more wealthy than you are as a person, because that´s ultimately, where your income comes from.”

“If there is bad news, just deliver it, you can´t hide it.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://www.thornhomes.co.uk

https://www.fmb.org.uk

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning, and development and a 100% successful track record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from laboring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial

Watch the full episode here.

Today, Paul explains why he thinks Kevin McCloud was wrong about the reasons behind the UK homebuilding market and model being broken. He breaks down the article paragraph by paragraph, sharing what he agrees with and what he doesn´t, including why.

Paul has built 7,000+ homes, won 3 Evening Standard House Building Awards and started his career working for one of the big PLC building firms. He has hands-on experience with what it takes to build houses in the UK, including passive housing. So, you can be sure he knows what he is talking about.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• House builders and developers are not the bad guys.
• Costs have not remained the same, they have gone up at least 30% in just 3 years.
• Without smaller housebuilders the UK´s housing crisis is never going to be solved.
• Building homes is super complicated and high-risk. If things go wrong your profit is wiped out, which is why there are very few small house builders left.
• In 1988, there were circa 12,500 smaller SME house builders, by 2017 only 2,500 remained.
• Housing associations are not for profit, which gives them the latitude to take more risks and experiment.
• Letting local councils add their standards to those that already exist will make things even more complex.
• Land prices are the main issue.
• Housing associations are not for profit and often have access to cheap or free land, which is why they can provide more for their home occupiers.

BEST MOMENTS

“Whilst I do agree with some of the stuff that Kevin says … a lot of it is just wrong.”

“We do need to make a profit. This is a super-risky, hard business.”

“Even if you abolished planning tomorrow and anyone could build anything, anywhere you would still never meet demand .”

RESOURCES

https://www.standard.co.uk/homesandproperty/property-news/kevin-mccloud-the-whole-housebuilding-market-and-model-is-broken-b1186346.html

https://www.hbf.co.uk/documents/6879/HBF_SME_Report_2017_Web.pdf

The Cobweb Model - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165188915000044

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group.

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment

Full episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK8EUKolqqo

In this episode, Paul explains exactly how he has achieved and is maintaining a 100% track record of winning planning approval over the past 40 years. He shares how he learned to do this, how you can do the same and how to keep your knowledge current to further reduce the risk of refusal.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• If at first you do not succeed, appeal. Paul has done this many times and has never lost an appeal.

• Take your time when putting together your plans. You need to do as much as you can to avoid getting a refusal on a site. Sometimes this can blight a site.

• Educate yourself about planning. Paul did this partly by going to planning meetings and observing what went on out in the real world. Book learning only gets you so far.

• Paul recommends qualifying as a Chartered Planning and Development surveyor like he did. He explains why.

• Never assume you know everything. That is why Paul still works with planning consultants. But at the same time, he also double-checks everything himself.

• Look at every little thing and think about how it applies to your site. That means keeping up with regulations, monitoring which planning applications are approved and which are denied and understanding why.

• Be all over all of the details. Do the planner's job for them to make it easier for them to approve you than it is for them to refuse you.

BEST MOMENTS

“Having a planning strategy before you even start is a big part of how I've got a 100% planning permission track record.”

“You don't really want refusals on your sites …. sites with refusals can sometimes get a bit blighted.”

“A lot of those applications I've had to win at appeal.”

“Be super detailed. Reverse engineer everything.”

“Understand all of the things that might come up before they come up and address them at the application and design stage.”

“You do need to learn and understand quite a lot of this stuff well, as much of it as possible yourself, in order to spot the angles, the opportunities and the pitfalls at an early stage.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Scorecard - https://scorecard.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/innovative-developments-that-provide-both-profit-and/id1750859336?i=1000672292005

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment

To watch the full episode on YouTube, click here

In this Q&A episode, Paul looks at preparing yourself for a situation where building materials suddenly become difficult to buy and cost a lot more than budgeted. He also shares the most effective way to derisk a project and explains what the biggest challenges are when building sustainably.

Sponsored by LandTech:

Source faster. Plan faster. Work faster. LandTech provides software to streamline the property development process and get the right deals done.

Claim your free trial of LandInsight: https://land.tech/millbank-referral

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Using a standardized design makes it far easier for you to find an alternative building material and apply that change across your project.

• Design in alternatives, so that you have a potential solution ready to implement if a material suddenly becomes unavailable.

• Fixed price contracts are not always a cast iron way of avoiding rising bill costs. Sometimes enforcing the contract when the price of building materials soars can lead to the contractor going bankrupt. In the end, you hire another contractor and still have to pay more than planned.

• Paul never buys a site with planning permission. During the episode, he explains why and how this helps him to derisk his developments.
• The more sustainably you build the more it costs. But soon new standards will mean everyone builds this way, which will level things up again.

BEST MOMENTS

“We had the biggest build cost increases, since WWII”

“Property development is not some easy get rich quick thing where it always goes the right way, very often it goes the wrong way.”

“Find 100% off-market development opportunities, then negotiate and secure them on sensible terms, and add maximum planning value to them.”

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial

Watch the full episode on YouTube here

Sponsored by LandTech:

Source faster. Plan faster. Work faster. LandTech provides software to streamline the property development process and get the right deals done.

Claim your free trial of LandInsight: https://land.tech/ipd-free-trial 

Paul is joined by Andrew Black, from land buying to planning, Andrew shares his journey through the ups and downs of the property market. He talks about the challenges faced by developers, the intricacies of the planning system, and the importance of SMEs in the industry. He also discusses green belt land and the many problems planners have faced due to government mismanagement of planning laws and regulations. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Experience in both land buying and planning is crucial for success in property development, as understanding the technical aspects and being able to negotiate deals are essential.
• SME developers play a vital role in the industry, offering unique approaches and flexibility that larger developers often lack, but face significant challenges in competing and surviving.
• The planning system in the UK is under resourced and often inefficient, with frequent policy changes and a lack of understanding between government, local authorities, and developers.
• Green Belt development is a contentious issue, but not all Green Belt land is pristine countryside, and well designed developments can often actually improve previously developed Green Belt sites.
• Infrastructure provision is often disconnected from housing development, leading to public resistance and a need for better integration of development and community facilities.
• The government's approach to planning and housing has been inconsistent and often ineffective, with multiple policy changes and a failure to implement recommendations from industry reviews.

BEST MOMENTS

"It's not an easy game. It's really not, which is why so many SME developers have disappeared and they're disappearing all the time."

"The Green Belt, if you just think about the Green Belt as an entity, it's got the best spin doctors, PR spin doctors that have ever been, hasn't it?"

"I think it's more entrance into the market going to help that SMEs doing stuff differently. Seeing SMEs evolve, become bigger builders. I think that's all helpful."

"There are some really talented planners out there. If you're a local authority planner, imagine you've got a hundred cases on, ten of them are nice developments, right? Ninety of them are clearing conditions."

"This is the worst government for planning and housing I've ever seen in my 40th year now. I mean, they've just literally been off the scale diabolical."

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track-record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group.  

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development, to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs/?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Egoogle%2Ecom%2F&originalSubdomain=uk

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

For this episode, Paul is joined by Henry Lamprecht, a leading Built Environment Communications and PR specialist at the Community Communications Partnership (CCP) and a former Councillor and lawyer. He and Paul discuss the current state of planning and the best ways to navigate the planning process both now and in the future.

You will also gain an understanding of how CCP works and how using their highly effective approach can help you to achieve planning consent success.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Councillors are still mainly influenced by what the people who vote for them say, so take residents with you.

• Addressing the needs of the community creates opportunities for all stakeholders,  e.g. providing the opportunity for people to downsize and stay in their community.

• The Community Communications Partnership (CCP) includes people from all political parties. All views are represented.

• The CCP approach works. For one development they got 100% consent.

• Using online resources to do the community consultation is far more effective than pop-in exhibitions.

• Use social media effectively. Target people who need housing and use layman´s terms to explain how they will benefit from the development.

• Leverage Section 106 to meet community needs.

• In the future, you will likely have to get your development included in the local plan.

• New towns next to existing settlements is a practical approach, but it will take time to deliver. So, smaller developments are still vital.

BEST MOMENTS

“As a councillor, you measure the importance of something by the content of your mailbag.”

“When I started as a councillor, I had absolutely no idea about planning legislation. ”

“Drop in exhibitions in the village hall … are just not working.”

“Focus (communication) on the people that want and need housing.”

“They (councillors) are acting like the police, when they should be acting like the fire and ambulance service trying to solve the crisis.”

“Do not put yourself in the middle of a political battle.”

“You have to pay the section 106. Make sure that it actually delivers tangible benefits for that community, that's how you convince them.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://www.theccp.net

https://www.cityam.com/build-a-new-town-in-london

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment

Watch the full episode here.

In this episode, Paul answers people´s property design questions. He reveals the biggest trends in housing design, how and why property design is changing, and the impact technology is having. During the episode, he covers some of the pros and cons of building with modular components and the influence recent legislation changes are having. Paul talks about why smaller developers really have the edge over the mass housing builders.

He also talks about his Building With Nature experience, focusing on how it has impacted the way he designs his developments. Within this, he shares sharing how to balance creativity with functionality. 

Sponsored by LandTech:

Source faster. Plan faster. Work faster. LandTech provides software to streamline the property development process and get the right deals done.

Claim your free trial of LandInsight: https://land.tech/ipd-free-trial 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• How buildability plays a role within property design, for example, whether it is sustainable, easy to construct and cost-effective to build that way.
• The push for sustainability is having a growing impact on modern property design.
• How building in a way that connects people with nature is a win-win.
• You need to start with functionality. If the property does not work for people, they won´t buy it.
• Creativity comes second to functionality and getting too creative can easily lead to going hugely over budget.
• Aim to build better but do it in a way that still looks good.

BEST MOMENTS

“Smaller developers have a massive opportunity to push the envelope and create much better, bespoke, well-designed stuff.”

“The technology around building quickly, efficiently, economically and in a high-performing, sustainable way will impact design.”

“The best architects would actually quite like to be developers because that's how they get their stuff created.” 

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial

Listen to the full episode on YouTube here

Paul is joined by Jonny Britton, CEO of Landtech, to explore the challenges and innovations in the property development industry. From the origins of Landtech to the future of AI in property tech, this episode explores the evolving landscape of land acquisition, planning, and development. Discover how technology is reshaping the industry and why collaboration might be the key to solving the housing crisis.

Sponsored by LandTech: Source faster. Plan faster. Work faster. LandTech provides software to streamline the property development process and get the right deals done.

Claim your free trial of LandInsight: https://land.tech/ipd-free-trial 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• LandTech's journey began with a desire to make land information more accessible, evolving from a self-build focus to a comprehensive tool for developers of all sizes.
• The planning system's inefficiencies and political nature often hinder development, highlighting the need for more stable, long-term housing policies.
• Permitted Development rights, while offering some benefits, can lead to low quality housing solutions and don't always create the best living environments.
• The misconception about greenbelt land and the challenges of brownfield development prove that we need to develop better public understanding of the development process.
• Financial viability is a crucial factor in development that is often misunderstood, with many failing to grasp the risks and challenges that developers face.
• LandTech is expanding its services to include development appraisal tools and funding assistance, aiming to streamline the entire development process.
• The integration of AI and large language models in property tech could revolutionise how data is interpreted and used in the development industry.
• Collaboration between developers, local communities, and policymakers is essential for creating better housing solutions and addressing the housing crisis effectively.

BEST MOMENTS

"The opaque nature of land and planning, you know has kind of led to it being so cut throat and I think that hasn't helped developers at all because the worst stories are the ones that get out there."

"Personally, I don't like a lot of it. I think very often you end up just polishing turds, making it easier to just convert old buildings that might not be that attractive."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonnybritton

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track-record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group.  

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development, to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs/?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Egoogle%2Ecom%2F&originalSubdomain=uk

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Here is a link to the full episode.

In this episode, Paul chats with Cany Ash, co-founder of Ash Sakula, a London-based, award-winning architectural studio known for its bold and innovative approach to design. Cany shares her journey, from her mother’s transformative experiments with spaces to shaping her vision for radically rethinking housing and neighbourhoods. Together, they explore how collaborative trust between architects, planners, and developers can spark real change, why isolated estates are a false economy and the transformative potential of "house-on-a-house” each with their own front door to the street.

Discover how Ash Sakula creates developments that enhance places physically and socially, and what’s needed to make this approach mainstream.

Follow Ash Sakula’s campaign, for Profitable Neighbourhoods:  https://profitableneighbourhoods.co.uk/

#ArchitecturePodcast #FutureNeighbourhoods #AshSakula #UrbanDesign #CommunityBuilding

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

• When a council is truly invested in a project seemingly impossible issues are overcome. Resident-led transformation also moves fast. 
• Unless architects, planners and developers start trusting each other and truly work together things will not change.
• The best developments enrich a place physically and socially. 
• Cany believes that building isolated housing estates when there is so much land elsewhere that can be revitalised is a false economy. 
• Developments need to make sense for all parties, the developers, residents and the local authority. 
• Right now, design codes and planning are far too restrictive. 
• Creating a Profitable Neighbourhood ‘Twin’: one house on top of another house, with each having a proper front door, makes development viable in far more places. 
  
  
   BEST MOMENTS 
  
   “The business of making stuff feels to me like a human right.” 
  “It was a real toggle of different house shapes, but it got more homes on the site.” 
  “Nothing ever comes from nowhere. There is a need to create the right compost for development and the right ambition.”
   “The one thing we've got to stop doing is building house builder estates 3 roundabouts from the nearest pint of milk.”
  “Create micro neighbourhoods inside larger neighbourhoods inside towns.” 
  
  
   EPISODE RESOURCES 
  www.profitableneighbourhoods.co.uk
  https://www.ashsak.com
  https://www.phoenixlewes.com/
  https://lewishamsmallsites.co.uk/
  https://archello.com/project/the-malings
  https://www.lilac.coop

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment

In this episode, Paul talks to David Jones, the managing director of Evans Jones Planning and Property Consultancy. He has been working in planning for 30+ years. He and Paul look at how the planning system has evolved and is likely to look in the future. Including the impact recent changes are already having e.g. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). As well as how the Housing Delivery Test  (HDT) is likely to play out, particularly in the Green Belt. 
Paul also explains how his new software Viability enables developers to spot at a very early stage whether a site is viable or not.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Whether a council is for or against development is still going to determine how easy it is to build.
• Those councils that have delivered less than 75% of the required housing over the last three years will be under the presumption to permit development umbrella.
• The HDT blows a hole in the idea that you can never build on Green Belt land, but the Golden Rules criteria, e.g. affordable housing, presents challenges.

BEST MOMENTS
“We're starting to see the first flurry of encouraging appeal decisions post the new NPPF.”
“It is no longer inappropriate to develop in the Green Belt where there is no five-year supply, and that is an absolute game-changer.”
“Any significant development scheme will always have dissenters. But it's how we deal with those and what we can do to publicise the benefits.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
https://www.evansjones.co.uk
https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-jones-rtpi-rics-65b1053
https://www.designreviewpanel.co.uk
Viability Software - https://viability.site
BNG episode - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a-practical-approach-to-bng-and/id1750859336?i=1000689091292

ABOUT THE HOST 
Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.
Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 
In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 
Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.
 
CONTACT METHOD
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs
Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment

Watch the full episode here. 

In this episode, Paul talks about something most people have never heard of – The Grey Belt. He explains what it is, the part it could play in solving the UK´s current housing crisis and how property developers can take advantage of this emerging opportunity. Paul has recently developed a grey belt plot, so knows how to get planning permission for this type of land.

His recent experience provides insights into how the government is likely to loosen planning regulations so that more of the grey belt can be developed. A policy idea Labour is pursuing as a way to ease the UK´s current housing crisis.

Sponsored by LandTech:

Source faster. Plan faster. Work faster. LandTech provides software to streamline the property development process and get the right deals done.

Claim your free trial of LandInsight: https://land.tech/ipd-free-trial

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The grey belt is essentially a part of the green belt.
• Not all green belt land is beautiful fields and forests, some parts are dumping grounds or covered in derelict buildings. These ugly abandoned areas are potentially grey belt land.
• Paul recently created a development on what was green belt land full of derelict buildings.
• The NPPF review includes finding ways to better utilise grey belt land. During the episode, Paul shares some of the development exclusions that might be taken away.
• Even if a site has been built on previously some factors are still likely to stop future development. Paul explains what some of them are.

BEST MOMENTS

“This (green belt) place was absolutely diabolical. It had lain vacant and derelict for years and years, covered in horrible old buildings.”

“There's an interesting question, around grey belt - To what extent does remoteness and things like that come into the equation?”

“Ideally close to existing settlements, ideally a bit messy, so it's not farms or fields or forests.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment/videos

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group.

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial

Watch the full episode on YouTube here

In this episode, Paul answers questions on property development planning. From easier ways to get planning approved to why collaboration is key in planning development, Paul shares his thoughts and knowledge to help guide listeners in difficult planning situations.

Sponsored by LandTech

Source faster. Plan faster. Work faster. LandTech provides software to streamline the property development process and get the right deals done.

Claim your free trial of LandInsight: https://land.tech/ipd-free-trial 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• To improve things for everyone in property development, we need to start working more collaboratively with local authority planning departments
• Tension often builds between developers and councils because of the time and money pressures both must contend with.
• Ensure you know all of the planning policies and related regulations, you can then reverse engineer what needs to be designed to meet the rules.
• It pays to be as prepared as possible for any question at the planning stage, to prevent issues further down the line in the planning process.
• Balancing conflicting policies and knowing what weight to apply to each area is a learned skill specific to the developer and the area they are working in.
• You can make decisions based on research and analysis, having a good team and experience helps but there is still always a risk due to the amount of unknowns in planning.

BEST MOMENTS

“Local authorities are under massive pressure themselves are severely under-resourced”

“We need the very best professional teams”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track-record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group.  

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development, to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs/?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Egoogle%2Ecom%2F&originalSubdomain=uk

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Watch the full episode here. 

In this episode, Paul talks with Sean Branton about how his 3 days a week of work experience on building sites led to him becoming an award-winning developer entrepreneur. Despite not getting much formal education at school Sean became obsessed with educating himself, which is why he has been able to solve problems that have stopped others in their tracks.

He shares his entrepreneurial journey and explains how he is still getting deals done, despite the current market conditions making it difficult for SMEs to do so. Including, garden grabbing, and the pros, and cons of buying sites with planning and doing build-only deals with landowners.

Sponsored by LandTech:

Source faster. Plan faster. Work faster. LandTech provides software to streamline the property development process and get the right deals done.

Claim your free trial of LandInsight: https://land.tech/ipd-free-trial

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Forget fighting with 30 other people for land on Rightmove. Instead, do land studies to find something viable fewer people know about.
• Because sites with planning are in the public domain, they are very rarely cheap. So, the margins are often far too tight.
• You have to build extremely fast to make a site with consent work financially.
• Buying a site with planning is risky especially if prices happen to stop going up. Then, there is no way to cover any overspend and you can lose your entire business.
• Feed your site pipeline. If you don´t you will lose key members of your team and replacing them will be very hard.
• You need a good manager on the ground who can foresee problems, deal with them, and manage the technical stuff.
• Surround yourself with the right people and get a mentor. That will save you years.
• A lot of people with ADHD have a high tolerance for risk, which is why quite a few property developers have the condition. Often, they are also addicted to work.
• Make self-care and continually educating yourself priority

BEST MOMENTS

“Our best and most success is always direct to vendor.”

“I don't possess much talent, but I'm persistent, and I've got a much higher purpose and drive than other people.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://www.instagram.com/sean_branton

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial

Watch the Full Episode here.

This solo episode of the Inside Property Development Podcast is all about the biggest mistake developers make, which is being over-reliant on their consultants. This is a problem because it is not the job of your consultants to know and do everything that needs to be done to deliver your project on budget and on time. Paul explains why so many developers fall into that trap and how to avoid doing the same.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• When developers become overly reliant on their consultants, particularly architects and planning consultants, things can go very, very wrong.

• When it comes to property development, consultants don´t know enough to be able to take care of everything. 

• Consultants have multiple clients, so it is unrealistic to expect them to prioritise you and chase things up to make sure they get done on time e.g. expecting your architect to oversee getting planning permission.

• Developers need to see the big picture, and how everything fits together. They need to conduct the orchestra, which includes their consultants to make sure everything gets done properly and on time.

• Be 100% clear about what each consultant will be doing for you. 

• You can hire a development consultant, but they are just going to do the things you can and should be doing yourself. Plus, they may not do it well.

• You are always going to be more motivated than anyone else will be. After all, it´s your money that is on the line, not theirs.

BEST MOMENTS

“Property development is complex, there´s a lot of moving parts. I often liken it to 10-dimensional chess.”

“There are a lot of things that influence the success or not of a deal, and it is not any of the consultant's job to know about those things.”

“It's not the planning consultant's job to sort of negotiate the whole deal.”

“It's very rare to find a good development consultant, who knows and does everything … if they did, they would be doing it for themselves as a developer.”

“It is our job to understand and instruct and put together a really detailed document for our professional team.”

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment

View the full episode on youtube here.

In this episode, Paul talks about one of his favourite ways to do land deals - £1 Option Agreements that enable you to effectively buy or control what happens to a piece of land for an investment of £1. If you think that sounds impossible, you are certainly not alone, but you´d be wrong. Paul and other developers have been doing exactly that for many, many years. That is how he does most of his deals.

Listen in and you will learn how to use agreements to control land that you do not currently have enough money to buy and do so by investing as little as £1 upfront.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• JD Rockefeller said, “Control everything without owning anything.”…which is exactly what land options allow you to do.

• Option agreements provide you with the option to do something, without the obligation to actually do it.

• When you don´t use options, the size of the deals you can do is limited by how much money you have.

• The right type of option on a piece of land provides you with time to get planning permission. So, when it is time to pay the full price for the land you already know for sure that your development will go ahead.

• If you don´t get planning permission, you are not legally bound to buy the land.

• Importantly, options are also beneficial for landowners. Paul explains how.

• You need to learn to use the right language to persuade landowners and land the deal.

• It is possible for you to make money from effectively selling your agreement to another developer.

• The deal must be properly worded and registered.

• To make money from options you must understand what the true value of the land is.

BEST MOMENTS

“An option agreement is just a legal agreement that gives you the option to do something, but beautifully, not the obligation”

“I realized that I could control land. I could get an agreement to buy it, even if I didn't have enough money to buy it.”

“For the landowner, you will be typically going away trying to add value to their asset without it costing them a penny. So, from their point of view, there's no risk.”

“You can effectively sell on, assign your agreement to another buyer and you never have to complete on the deal.”

“I´ve never had a landowner even try to get out of an option agreement.”

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment

Today, Paul talks to Hayley Farnell, director of Samsara Ecology and an ecologist with 20+ years of experience. They discuss the best ways for developers to conduct environmental studies, meeting the challenge of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), offsite habitat creation, brownfield site assessment and open mosaic habitats. Hayley also explains how to reach the point where you can still legally build while protecting any bats, newts or badgers you have on site.

• KEY TAKEAWAYS
  Do not touch the site and get it environmentally assessed immediately. This enables you to plan ahead, prevent delays, reduces costs and makes BNG easier.
• Breaking protection laws often leads to prosecution, a criminal record and your profits being taken from you.
• Having bats, newts or badgers rarely means you can´t develop the site. Hayley explains how to work your way through these situations.
• The idea behind BNG was to create a way for developers to leave the habitat better than when they started.
• A significant % of small sites need to use offsite habitat creation to meet BNG criteria. 
• Most providers of offsite habitat plots offer poor-quality habitats. So, in reality, biodiversity net gains are not always achieved.
• Assessors, ecologists, councils and developers need to work together to improve BNG.

BEST MOMENTS
“You've been talking in a no-bullsh**t way about some of the problems around BNG.”
“As long as things are done right, most of the time, things can be moved.”
“It's all bonkers, really.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hfarnell
ABOUT THE HOST 
Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.
Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 
In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 
Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.
 
CONTACT METHOD
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs
Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment

Watch the full episode here.

In this episode, Paul talks to Sadun, who is one of Paul´s highly successful students. Sadun started out by doing small refurbs before transitioning to auction flipping and land deals. On his first land deal, he made a profit of £1.3 million. Sadun explains how he did that with the help of Paul´s training and LandTech. 

Sadun also shares what he is up to today, including how he has found 1,400 potential deals to pursue in London and how he gets planning there even for a property that has been turned down in the past.

Sponsored by LandTech:

Source faster. Plan faster. Work faster. LandTech provides software to streamline the property development process and get the right deals done.

Claim your free trial of LandInsight: https://land.tech/ipd-free-trial

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Having commercial properties in the mix helps to create a rental income that covers your monthly overheads.
• Putting in an offer before the auction date can land you good deals.
• Don´t get desperate and take on something that does not feel right.
• The planning process is full of surprises. Sometimes even when a project ticks all of the boxes it will not get approved.
• You have to see the full picture so that you can conduct the orchestra of people who work for you to deliver what you need. How you instruct your architect matters.
• Spending a few thousand on a planning consultant and architect who both know the area and how things really work before putting together your plans will save you a lot.
• Before contracting your architect for the full project get them to prepare a small sketch. This will weed out anyone who does not have the necessary vision and skill.
• Before you buy, understand what your plan B is. Make sure there is still enough money in the project even if things don´t go well.
• The way councils think changes over time and often the planning decision has a lot to do with local politics. Sometimes you have to wait for the right moment.
• There are still plenty of opportunities, including in every part of London.

BEST MOMENTS

“You still need the knowledge and experience to know what you're looking for and just decipher what you're actually seeing.”

“Optimise and maximise everything you do.”

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial

Full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a7dm5yPqag

Today, Paul once again talks to David Hughes of Fuse Architects. This time they discuss temporary planning permission for modular housing units. David explains how using this approach would enable families who are often living together in a tiny B&B room to be properly housed in just 6 months. He also talks about why it makes financial sense for councils to use this method to increase housing stock in their area.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• In the UK, 117,000 households are living in temporary accommodation.

• London councils spend £114m a month on stop-gap accommodation.

• A significant % of people are housed in sub-standard accommodation e.g., hotel rooms of just 16.5 sq. meters, at a time when you can´t build a one-bed flat of less than 50 sq. meters.

• Building social housing currently takes 4 to 5 years.

• If the houses are only temporary, many of the costly and time-consuming reports that are currently needed would not be necessary.

• High building material inflation means that projects that were viable when plans were drawn up, become impossible to build because of finances.

• Sites that are going to be sitting empty for years, e.g. stalled sites, can easily have modular housing put on them.

• Modular housing can be leased to councils and are available for use in just 6 months.

• Modular housing can be craned away and used elsewhere.

• Using temporary planning permission can turn a site that is currently not financially viable into homes and generate income for the owner.

BEST MOMENTS

“Nationwide, there´s 117,000 households in temporary accommodation.”

“Greenwich spent £8.8 million last year on Travelodge.”

“So huge amount of reports. I read the other day that there was a planning report done on the speed of a cricket ball.”

“There is no advantage to getting planning permission for 100% affordable housing.”

“Because it is temporary planning permission, the hope is it will go through much quicker.”

“When local authorities want to make stuff happen, it happens.”

GUEST RESOURCES

https://www.fusearchitects.co.uk

Previous Dave Hughes episode -https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dave-hughes-the-developers-architect-design-grounded/id1750859336?i=1000676721440

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment

Listen to the full episode on YouTube here

In this episode, Paul talks about his remarkable career in property development. From his humble beginnings as a construction site labourer to becoming a successful developer, Paul shares his valuable experience, revealing the challenges facing the industry, the importance of sustainable development, and why Paul considers himself a "hippie property developer."

Sponsored by LandTech: Source faster. Plan faster. Work faster. LandTech provides software to streamline the property development process and get the right deals done.

Claim your free trial of LandInsight: https://land.tech/ipd-free-trial 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Paul's early struggles with ADD and adoption shaped his drive and work ethic, ultimately contributing to his success in property development.
• The importance of understanding land and planning is crucial for successful property development, more so than just construction knowledge.
• Option agreements can be a powerful tool for developers to control land without significant upfront capital, allowing for bigger deals.
• The 2008 financial crisis nearly wiped out Paul's business, highlighting the importance of careful financial management and choosing the right lending partners.
• Property development has become increasingly difficult over the years, with the number of SME house builders drastically declining since 1988.
• Sustainable development and working with nature are important, but financial viability must also be considered to incentivise developers.
• The role of a property developer is like a conductor of an orchestra, overseeing various aspects and experts to create successful projects.
• Building relationships and working with the right people is crucial in property development, as it's challenging to do everything alone.

BEST MOMENTS

"I eventually came to realise you need to know a lot more than just about construction in order to be a property developer. In fact, I came to realise that what it's really all about is land and planning."

"I'm a bit of a weird one because I'm a sort of hippie property developer, but I'm living in the real world so I know what it takes to get deals done."

"Most developers actually go bust, certainly the smaller ones. People don't really know about that. They just see the success stories and think we're all flying around in helicopters, making fortunes. It's not like that for most of us."

"We're basically the conductor of the orchestra, so we need to see the bigger picture and how everything fits together. We're the ones that take the big risks, the ones that have to put our wotsits on the line."

"The problem is, you know, when you build cheap, you build shit, you create shit, the whole environment goes to shit, people start acting like shit, and everything goes to f*cking shit."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track-record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group.  

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development, to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs/?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Egoogle%2Ecom%2F&originalSubdomain=uk

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Watch the full episode here.

In this episode, Paul talks to Kris Carpenter, who is a property developer from Leeds. He explains how he went from getting his Master's in psychology to joining the Army, leaving and building a big property portfolio through a JV. Before becoming a fully-fledged property developer, consultant and land trader.

By sharing his journey Kris provides you with practical and up-to-date strategies you can use to avoid the pitfalls and overcome the unavoidable challenges. If you are an ambitious property entrepreneur this is a must listen episode.

Sponsored by LandTech:

Source faster. Plan faster. Work faster. LandTech provides software to streamline the property development process and get the right deals done.

Claim your free trial of LandInsight: https://land.tech/ipd-free-trial

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Take advantage of downturns.
• Tax and exit planning are important. Think long-term and understand the pros and cons of each option.
• Take advantage of tax breaks, but never assume they won´t disappear. The government continually changes the rules and taxes that opportunity out of existence.
• Resist the temptation to pursue a bad deal because you are desperate to have something on the go. Wait until you find the right opportunity.
• Kris now develops projects that he holds onto and uses to generate income. He no longer sells everything on.
• Land deals where you get the planning, and then sell it to a builder are lucrative.
• Look at syndicated loans.
• If you are just starting out, spend 6 months learning about it and get a job in the industry before you invest.
• Get good at raising funds.
• Understand every aspect of your business model but build a team to get it all done.
• There's nearly as much work on a small deal as there is on a big one.
• Diversifying smooths out cash flow and protects you from downturns.

BEST MOMENTS

“Use the skills of a developer to create your own investments.”

“Property development is so complicated that you need to be world-class at one aspect of it..”

“The key skill is being able to build a team”

“It does not matter how rich you are, you will run out of money in this game.”

“Your ability to market and sell yourself and raise funds is key because the banks won't give you the money you need.”

ABOUT THE GUEST

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristoffercarpenter

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group.

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial

Watch the full episode here. 

In this episode, Paul is joined by Marios Stratis a property investor and developer who has worked in the industry for 23 years and is one of his students. He and his team have a reputation for sourcing land and buildings most others would not find or be willing to tackle, and then turning them into unique and profitable developments. 

Including doing so in conservation areas, with heritage properties and sites of archaeological interest. He shares his experience of flipping, HMOs, refinancing deals, handling landowners and much more. As well as sharing his take on recent legislation changes. Personal development has played a big role in Marios´ success, so he discusses that too.

Sponsored by LandTech:

Source faster. Plan faster. Work faster. LandTech provides software to streamline the property development process and get the right deals done.

Claim your free trial of LandInsight: https://land.tech/ipd-free-trial

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Personal development is a vital component of business success. 
• Mindset and mental health matter.
• Raise your vibration, frequency, or energy. When you do people are more comfortable and open-minded around you.
• Put in place a good system for managing and monitoring your leads.
• You need to build a strong, but balanced relationship with the landowner.
• Collaborate with professionals who have experience in the area and the type of scheme.
• Invest in your health, Marius has done so recently to reduce inflammation in his body, which has made him feel much better and become far more productive.
• The government needs to help landlords more, if they don´t they won´t create more homes, which is what is needed.

BEST MOMENTS

“I proved it to myself when I was a trader how important vibration was.”

“If they're (the landowners) difficult during the honeymoon period, you've got no chance when it comes to selling it, building, or completing on it. 

“It just comes down to the money pool at the end of the day.”

“You've basically taught us everything we needed to know from start to finish.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marios-stratis-57397511a

https://www.stratishomes.co.uk

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Power-vs-Force-Determinants-Behavior/dp/B002SQ22L4

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial

In this episode, Paul sits down with David Birbeck, one of the most knowledgeable people when it comes to planning and development. He is the CEO of Design for Homes, a Housing Design Awards director, an Honorary Fellow of RIBA, HCA design board member, NHBC councillor and Housing Forum board member. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Despite the desperate need for housing in the UK, at some point, somebody will start a sort of anti-development lobby.
• Most authorities struggle to get their local plans adopted, so most will not manage to release a third more land.
• Cambridge was the first to redraw its green belt and broke the record for the most new homes built.
• If you get the design of low-level buildings right, you don´t need to build mostly flats to achieve 25 homes per acre. 
• Switching from traditional housing types and building a broader range of housing has been key to making a generous profit.
• Cambridge planners focus on community, character, connectivity and climate benefit, not the architecture.
• Redrawing developments with planning to improve density is already happening.

BEST MOMENTS
“We set up a series of ideas to improve housing and the government has adopted some of them.”
“Cambridge has become, by accident …. a laboratory for new housing ideas.”
“When you look at Great Knighton it's all coming in at a minimum of about 25 homes to the acre.”
“110 years later, we’re still working to a rule that’s about Edwardian sensibilities.”

ABOUT THE GUEST
https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-birkbeck-399b771a

ABOUT THE HOST 
Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.
Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 
In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 
Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.
 
CONTACT METHOD
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs
Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment

In this episode, Paul shares a few more details about his INSIDER Property Development Framework. Starting with the I that stands for Identifying your site. This includes finding it through off-market opportunities, carrying out fact finding, narrowing down your options, net research, discussing options with the landowner, establishing relationships with other stakeholders and realising the deal.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The I in INSIDER stands for identifying the best sites.
• The best deals are found through off-market opportunities – doing private, one-on-one deals directly with the landowner.
• Learning how to find these sites enables you to develop sites yourself or make money as a land agent.
• You have to understand planning. Without that knowledge you can´t do the rest. 
• Attend planning committee meetings for the council you will be working with.
• Even landowners who have said no in the past will say yes if you approach them in the right way and at the right time.
• Following up on your initial approach at the right time is key.
  

BEST MOMENTS
“The name of the game really is about finding the proper 100% off-market opportunities.”
“Land agency site finding is big business.”
“Focus and fact finding is about understanding the planning.”
“What I'm thinking about is, what's the best thing for that site, and what is it that's going to maximize the land value?”
“I´ve actually had 20,000 landowner meetings.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Part 1 - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/tapping-into-insider-knowledge-to-create-highly-profitable/id1750859336?i=1000683094605

ABOUT THE HOST 
Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.
Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 
In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 
Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.
 
CONTACT METHOD
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs
Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment

For this episode, Paul is once again joined by Dave Hughes of Fuse Architects. This week they discuss Modern Methods of Construction (MMCs), looking at how they can help developers deliver consistently better-quality homes at a competitive price point, while also overcoming skills shortages.
They discuss the challenges developers face when using MMC and how to work out which category of MMC is suitable for each type of development.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
•    The best modern construction techniques are quicker, cheaper and better quality. 
•    Making things in a factory creates efficiency and therefore reduces cost.
•    Many of the tried and tested building materials used in traditional construction are also used in modern construction methods.
•    Most councils and housing associations are comfortable with the use of cat 2 panels.

BEST MOMENTS
“95% of what we build is basically sticking components together, very rarely do you ever make anything bespoke.”
“Roof trusses are a classic example.”
“The most extreme end of the volumetric world is an actual house.”
“If it's cheaper to build something traditionally, then the incentive is going to be there to build it traditionally.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
https://www.fusearchitects.co.uk
Previous Dave Hughes episodes - https://podcasts.apple.com/pt/podcast/using-temporary-planning-permission-to-quickly-house/id1750859336?i=1000682279712
https://podcasts.apple.com/pt/podcast/dave-hughes-the-developers-architect-design-grounded/id1750859336?i=1000676721440

ABOUT THE HOST 
Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.
Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 
In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 
Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.
 
CONTACT METHOD
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs
Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment