Land owners will need to take a more pro-active approach to land sale in order to counteract inertia in the market – and a major part of this change is likely to include the undertaking of enabling works.

The end of Landfill Tax Exemption and the current economic climate will bring many changes for companies looking to sell brownfield land. Land owners will need to take a more pro-active approach to land sale in order to counteract inertia in the market – and a major part of this change is likely to include the undertaking of enabling works.

With the market overloaded with land opportunities, developers are being attracted towards less risky land options - leaving the owners of the more problematic sites with poor balance sheet liability. As a result it is expected that problem-site holders will now consider instigating enabling works, in order to overcome the problem.

Enabling works include the actions of demolition, remediation and infrastructure development before the point of sale, in order to make their site more appealing to potential buyers. These works may include complicated procedures such as bioremediation or land stabilisation for the treatment or removal of contaminants such as inorganic heavy metals, organic hydrocarbon or chlorinated solvent contamination However, with the landowner being in control, low-cost long-term solutions can be considered.

Blue chip corporate companies are one such group likely to adopt this new approach to land development. Such companies might once have sold their land ‘dirty’, however they are now likely to see the benefit of beginning the development process themselves, before selling it on. This is a reaction to the fact that, increasingly, developers will be looking to buy a ‘package’ that includes both land and enabling works - with the greatest ground risk no longer a concern.