Estates & Property

DJA expertise includes property and estates. We have a close working relationship with an RICS regulated company (Whiteleaf Consulting) providing us with a wide and varied skill set. Our instructions range from a single one-off instruction to act as a company’s property “department”, to more specialist development advice. Our wide experience allows us to advise on a range of property types from waste and minerals to residential and commercial.

Our services include Estate Management, Viability, Acquisition and Disposal, & Land Searches GIS

Estate Management

We have the expertise to provide you with an experienced property professional to provide a one-stop-shop for your company’s property matters. This is from strategy to implementation. Such a service can be on an ad-hoc basis or, as some clients prefer, we become embedded within your organisation to be first contact for property matters and issues to provide expert guidance and solutions. Some clients just like to have the ability to pick up the phone to talk through a property related idea or issue that may have a pragmatic solution or to receive guidance on how to achieve their goals.

Viability

Pressure is on both developers and council decision-makers to ensure creative, high quality, carbon-neutral developments. With this pressure comes the issue of deliverability and ensuring development is supported by all who may be impacted or will benefit.

This is a balance that is difficult to manage. Viability Assessments are one tool by which such matters can be appraised. Although this primarily involves financial modelling and related scenario and sensitivity testing, the conclusions can help guide decision makers as to what should be expected and what can be achieved within a given market and at a given cost when subject to the pressures of policy at national and local level.

Whiteleaf Consulting Ltd has developed a close working relationship with DJA, having spent the last 15 years helping landowners, developers and Councils understand the delicate balance between deliverability and stakeholder expectations. Working with Whiteleaf, we pride ourselves in providing clear, independent advice that understands the demands of all parties, whether this is at a strategic level in Local Plan reviews, or at a ground level advising on deliverability reflecting policy and physical issues that may arise.

Acquisition and Disposal

Acquisition advice is key for a company’s growth especially for our residential and minerals/waste clients where such land acquisition is an ongoing issue with landbanks being a wasting asset. We can advise on land transactions for development as well as progress on options already signed and where purchase negotiations need to be progressed.

For disposal, we can liaise with you on the most appropriate method of disposal and whether our role is in the management of a suitable agent or we are the introducing partner. This will depend on each circumstance and we would advise the most appropriate and effective route for you.

Land Searches GIS

We use GIS to assist our clients in the management of their existing sites and in finding new ones. This can be for any size of site and can be tested against a range of constraints, such as land ownership, gradient, and proximity to services. This enables us to find sites as part of the land assembly process for local plan promotion, working with landowners.