Q Why sell to Mactaggart & Mickel?
A As a long established private medium sized family company we are well placed to understand the needs and concerns of landowners. We have a very talented and committed land and planning team who are able to look at a variety of development opportunities and gain best value for the landowner. Our approach is to ensure we get the best solution not just for Mactaggart & Mickel, but also for landowners. By adopting this strategy we have earned a strong reputation within the industry for being trustworthy and delivering on our promises.
Q What is Mactaggart & Mickel’s track record of success?
A Over the past 5 years the land and planning team has successfully secured over 1400 housing units with 134 of these being won at appeal. We have also successfully promoted over 500 acres of land through the Local Plan process from a Greenfield or Brownfield use to residential.
Q What type of sites do Mactaggart & Mickel purchase?
A The land and planning department are happy to look at a wide variety of potential development sites from urban sites with a pre-existing use to strategic Greenfield sites near to the urban edge of an existing settlement.
Q What size of sites do Mactaggart & Mickel buy?
A We will consider brownfield land or sites with an existing planning consent above 1 acre. Urban edge greenfield land should be a minimum of 5 acres. We do not have an upper limit when considering sites and have a proven track record in successfully promoting large strategic greenfield release sites through the Local Plan process.
Q What makes Mactaggart & Mickel different from other housebuilders?
A We remain different from many competitors as our land purchasing model is more controlled and targeted. Our preferred strategy is to speak to landowners on a one-to-one basis and forge relationships. This, in turn, means that prospective sellers will choose to speak to us before they approach other developers on the open market.
We are becoming more involved in mixed use developments and have already begun to build up a commercial portfolio. This approach allows us greater flexibility when planning for development which in turn can create better value for the landowner.
Q How do we engage with Local Authorities and Communities in promoting your land?
A We have been successfully engaging with local authorities and communities for many years. Wherever Mactaggart & Mickel build homes, we always set out to be sympathetic to the location and the history of the area. Community involvement and engagement is important to ensure that local opinions are taken into account. For most of our major developments we hold a community engagement event prior to preparing our development proposals for the site. This is usually held in a local community hall or school at times when the majority of local people can come along i.e. weekday evenings and weekends. As well as engaging with the local community we believe it is essential to develop good working relationships with local authorities and to engage with them early in the planning process.
Q Do I have one point of contact within Mactaggart & Mickel?
A Yes. The members of the land and planning department each have their own specialist skills when it comes to purchasing land and planning for development. Your site will be allocated to the most appropriate member of staff who will remain your one point of contact throughout the land purchase process.
Q How long on average does it take to secure planning consent?
A New planning legislation in Scotland states that planning applications submitted for allocated residential sites should take the Local Authority no longer than 4 months to determine. Mactaggart & Mickel are well equipped to ensure that local authorities are provided with all the information they need in order to meet these timescales.
It is worth noting that for all planning applications above 50 housing units or 2 hectares there is a requirement for pre-application community engagement. A pre-application community engagement notice must be submitted to the planning authority a minimum of 12 weeks prior to submitting any planning applications. As noted above, Mactaggart & Mickel are fully committed to engaging with local authorities and communities in relation to planning applications for residential or mixed use developments.