An opportunity to buy land near the Kent coast became available from a private developer in the winter of 2008. The West Kent Housing Association required 10 flats and 7 houses as affordable homes for their tenants so bought the land. The developer became the contractor and Appleyards was appointed as Employer’s Agent to protect the Associations’ interests through the management of negotiations, sale and transfer of land.

We were brought in after the feasibility study so carried out a health-check of the project. This enabled us understand at what stage the planning and negotiations were and advise well in advance of any outstanding issues. By establishing a dialogue with the local Housing Officers we gained a better understanding of the checklist of requirements from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

Challenges/Achievements

Through effective negotiations with the solicitors, Appleyards managed the exchange of contracts a week in advance of the deadline. Having established a good knowledge of the specification requirements from the Housing Officers, we were able to comply with the affordable homes checklist and ensure the Contractor complied.