Inside Property Development

Today, Paul is joined by the Director of Town Centre Regeneration Ltd, David Van Der Lande, a development consultant, viability, land assembly and compulsory purchase expert with many decades of experience. He and Paul discuss how CPOs have been used historically and how they are likely to be used in the future to enable local authorities to

deliver on the government´s new housing targets.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

BEST MOMENTS

“Government has been caught out a few times by the cost of buying land using CPO powers.

So there is motivation, shall we say, to try and curtail the amount of money that has been paid to landowners.”

ABOUT THE GUEST

https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-van-der-lande-2b947413

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

This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

In this episode, Paul is joined by Félicie Krikler of Barr Gazeta. She and Paul discuss
changing the way buildings are designed to make them easier to repurpose and the idea of
making tried and tested, cost effective home designs that work for most sites that are highly
likely to pass planning available for builders.

The Property Development Scorecard

https://millbanklandacademy.scoreapp.com

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Reworking our existing buildings makes sense. Félicie provides examples that
  demonstrate what works and what doesn´t.
• Designing buildings in a way that makes them easy to repurpose is desirable.
• Repurposing is a balancing act between cost effectiveness, embodied carbon and
  planning gain.
• Collaboration is key to repurposing.
• Prioritising quality of life for residents is an important component of any successful
  development.
• Build to rent is genuinely making housing more affordable.
• The cost of building a 40 sq. meter property is 20% lower than for a 50 sq. meter
  one. Far more affordable for buyers or tenants.

BEST MOMENTS
“We are in a time where buildings should be viewed in a flexible way.”
“We were looking at a construction system that could be accommodating for a number of
different uses.”
“As architects, our projects don´t end on the day of completion…our responsibility lasts
throughout the whole life of the building that impacts people´s lives.”
“More and more there’s a realisation of the importance of social value.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
https://www.linkedin.com/in/f%C3%A9licie-krikler-37945350
https://barrgazetas.com
https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/good-homes-for-all-why-we-are-showcasing-20-of-
the-nations-best-housing-schemes

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
This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

For this episode, Paul is joined by Tim Riley, director of the award-winning architectural
practice RCKa. He believes buildings can be catalysts for social change and has experience
of building homes and facilities that genuinely have transformed people´s lives and improved
areas.

You will learn how you can be involved in transforming our society by providing great
homes.

The Property Development Scorecard

https://millbanklandacademy.scoreapp.com

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Community groups tend to be focused on delivering their services, so rarely have the
  energy and resources to dedicate to a building project.
• Consulting with the community and stakeholder groups helps you to create an
  appealing scheme.
• Only a small % of an architect´s time is spent drawing. The best architects spend a
  lot of time liaising to get the most out of a site e.g. the structural engineer and testing
  the design Fully housing policy compliant schemes rarely stack up.
• Leverage design review panels. They really are there to help.
• The later living sector is still underserved.
• Developing later living on peri urban areas makes sense.
• Communities near later living villages can also benefit from new infrastructure, shops
  and facilities.
• Later living communities are multi-generational e.g. They have play facilities for
  grandchildren.

BEST MOMENTS

"From the outset we decided that we were going to design an appeal ready scheme.”

“As a developer, the best thing you can do is focus on good design.”
“You´re delivering homes at a third of the cost land wise.”

RESOURCES
https://www.linkedin.com/in/timriley2
https://rcka.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
This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

If you are tired of all the noise and misinformation about land values and development
economics, this episode of the Inside Property Development podcast is for you. Paul cuts
through the confusion and gives you the real deal. 

The Property Development Scorecard

https://millbanklandacademy.scoreapp.com

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The true driver behind development is economics. Starting with being able to
  incentivise the landowner to sell.
• Now that planning takes so long, the initial profit margin has to be relatively high. You
  need a substantial margin of error built into your calculations.
• Prior to 1988 lots of smaller builders built a few houses and sold them. After that,
  planning got too complicated.
• The government still has not understood the underlying problems e.g. Their new
  legislation targets land banking, which is not a thing. Sitting on land which has
  planning permission makes zero sense.
• Over the last few years, building costs have risen by 30%. The fact that this happens.

BEST MOMENTS
“It's not developers being greedy. That's driving this whole process. The thing that's really
driving the whole process is existing use values and meeting and beating landowners’
expectations.”
“Focusing on off-market sites and adding maximum planning value is basically how you de-
risk development as much as you possibly can.”
“The thing that really drives the whole development industry is existing use values and being
able to incentivize landowners to sell.”
“Since 1988 planning got so difficult that they've ended up having to try to buy stuff with
planning because they don't know how to do it themselves.”

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
This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

In this episode, Paul once again sits down to speak to Lewis Herbert to talk about the really important issues of homelessness and the housing crisis. As well as discussing how we got here, they look at some of the potential solutions, including the use of modular housing.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• In the UK, 134,000 people aged 16 to 25 are homeless or at risk.
• There are 150,000 rough sleepers.
• Homeless people need somewhere secure to live, it does not have to be big.
• The fact that these homes are genuinely temporary means they can be compact.
• Compact homes can be built and connected to utilities for £100,000 and projects can be delivered in a year.
• Cardiff already has enough two-storey modular homes to house 300 families.
• Lewis shares several other examples across the UK.
• Travelodge´s are expensive, so modular homes don´t take long to pay for
  themselves.
  

The Property Development Scorecard

https://millbanklandacademy.scoreapp.com

BEST MOMENTS
“I´ve got a passion for affordable housing.”
“I’m a fan of modern methods of construction.”
“If we’re going to get people out of hotel rooms, if we’re going to get people off the streets, compact is the way we’ve got to go.”
“It´s a very happy community on what was a car park.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lewis-herbert-84378110

Allia Future Homes - https://futurebusinesscentre.co.uk/our-impact/future-homes
Cardiff – https://businessnewswales.com/residents-welcome-temporary-homes-in-modular-
housing-scheme/
Motels to homes - https://chesshomeless.org
https://www.zedpods.com
https://www.social-bite.co.uk
https://www.fusearchitects.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

This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

In this episode, Paul is joined by Leanne Tritton, the founder, former MD and EOT Trustee of ING Media, a team of strategic communications specialists for the built world. They think differently and invest energy and creativity into transforming the way people see buildings, cities and infrastructure.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The building sector is very tribal, very siloed, which is counterproductive.
• The smartest operators understand getting a project over the line takes many hands and are able to engage with all the groups involved.
• When things go wrong, the natural thing is to add a layer to stop it happening again, usually in the form of legislation.
• Now, we have so many layers the only ones who can break through it all and deliver a project has to have deep pockets.
• Property companies are becoming a bit anonymous and too technocratic.
  Shareholders interests are aligned with producing a great product.
• Margins are not so tight, that you can´t build quality homes.
• There are 600,000 unused buildings in the UK that are suitable for housing. If
  developed they bring homes into existing communities.

BEST MOMENTS
“Our sector is very tribal.”
“There´s not been a lot of understanding about how it all fits together.”
“Some people in positions of leadership in the built environment are too far removed from the end product.”

The Property Development Scorecard

https://millbanklandacademy.scoreapp.com

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://www.dontwastebuildings.com

https://2025.ukreiif.com/

Jon Stewart and Ezra Klein – Abundance - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcZxaFfxloo

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
This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

Today, Paul sits down with Alexa Culver, a lawyer who specialises in the field of
environmental development, planning and natural capital. She is legal counsel for RSK
Wilding - a DEFRA designated body under the Environment Act, which creates large scale nature restoration schemes that support developers to replace habitats.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The Planning and Infrastructure Bill Part III is flawed. Paul and Alexa discuss how
  things got so out of hand and the solution.
• Not having any evidential requirement for an EDP to come into effect is highly
  problematic.
• If there is no mitigation hierarchy the pace at which nature declines speeds up.
• A 28-day window of consultation for an EDP is ridiculously short.
• We know from past experience that the way forward is for all involved parties to work together e.g. Newts are protected, but the way it is done has been greatly
  streamlined.
• The very existence of the bill, even in its draft form, has created uncertainty that has slowed down development.

BEST MOMENTS
“It´s such a blunt instrument and it doesn’t work.”
“It can’t be an objective environmental watchdog while relying on levies from developers.”
“Here we will be accelerating the harm.”
“Our ecosystems and local people´s environment is being sacrificed protect the profits of overseas companies.”
“It´s the absolute killer of any attempt to try to make an offsetting scheme work.”
“There´s some really wide-reaching, consequential amendment clauses in the bill.”

The Property Development Scorecard

https://millbanklandacademy.scoreapp.com

RESOURCES
Alexa´s post -https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7313892173786091520

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 and Lewis Herbert sit down to discuss the root causes of the UK current housing crisis and how the problem can be solved. For decades, Lewis has worked to tackle homelessness and the housing crisis.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• After the war, successive governments focused on housing. Millions of council
  houses and good quality private homes were built.
• The UK has not been building enough homes for about 50 years.
  The private sector has not been given the necessary levers and incentives to be able to build more.
• Planning at the county level for large-scale development would be a more effective approach.
• Many housing associations want ideal tenants, so the homeless do not qualify.
• In countries where house prices remain reasonable, rent is actually affordable.
• Even in Cambridge, where thousands of homes have been built, there is still not
  enough housing. In the 90s, the average cost of a home was 3 times a family´s income.
• In 2021, it was 9 times their household income.
• The economy is damaged because people can no longer afford to move for work.
• There are a lot of potential buyers, but very few that can afford to buy.
• Intensive development does not have to mean sub-standard or small homes.
• New techniques enable faster building.

BEST MOMENTS
“The people that suffer the most are on the bottom rung of the ladder… some are forced into temporary accommodation.”“We need many more small house builders to solve the housing crisis.”
“In 1976, the tap was turned off for social housing.”
“Land banking isn´t really a thing.”
“We have failed this generation.”

ABOUT THE GUEST
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lewis-herbert-84378110
Dave Hughes episode - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyKp-0P730s

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 Michael Langley, an architect turned developer, who started his career in London designing high-end buildings, extensions and basements. During COVID he decided to transition into development. He has already delivered projects and has several others in the pipeline.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• It is not the job of the architect to know everything about development. Their training does not cover all aspects of the processes used to construct a building.
• Architects that have the right experience will use what they know to inform their
  design process e.g. If they have repeatedly seen a building feature rejected at the
  planning stage they will not include it.
• Developers need to give their architect a proper brief, something that rarely happens.
• Complex designs, e.g. Roofs with funny angles look good but cost more.
  The timber frame method enables you to get watertight faster and have more trades on site earlier
• The unintended consequences of legislation changes is making it increasingly
  difficult to find viable deals, but they are still out there.
• Focus on off market deals, connect with landowners and build a pipeline of deals. Be patient, this takes time.

BEST MOMENTS
“You´ve got to factor so much more into your design process than just hitting the brief.”
“Its just as important to instruct your consultants correctly and provide your architects with a proper brief.”
“We managed to de-risk it slightly.” “They really don’t understand the impact of a lot of the s**t we have to deal with - the Section 106 agreement is a classic example.”
“We've got to make deals viable. If we can't create a certain land value the housing will not get created.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-langley-mla
https://www.instagram.com/mlangleyproperty

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 is joined by Richard Stone, a chartered construction manager and cost consultant. He also trains people in project management and turns them into experienced developers which enables them to grow their wealth far quicker than they would if they worked a salaried job with a traditional pension.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Working in construction is an excellent gateway into development and building wealth quickly.
• Use the most cost-effective fast way to get the roof on. 
• Every week you can shave off of construction time is worth 4k in profit.
  Being uber organised and having everything you need on site, right down to the right size cable ties massively improves efficiency and build quality.
• Pay decent rates to tradespeople who work efficiently, to a high standard and are self-managing.
• If you are doing a commercial property, strip it out before determining the final conversion cost.
• Risk is a good thing, that is where the profit is. But only if you identify it and already have a viable plan in place to mitigate it.
• For many projects, JCT contracts are helpful, e.g. to raise finance and secure clients.

BEST MOMENTS
“You can't turn up at Twickenham on a f**king polo pony … you are there to play rugby….every development is different”
“If you don't have risk, you can't have opportunity.”
“I wouldn't suggest that anybody that's new to development start by trying to deliver their own development, it will fail.”
“You need to be an octopus to spin the amount of plates you’ve got to spin.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
https://richardmstone.com
https://www.hbf.co.uk/news/hbf-report-state-play-challenges-and-opportunities-facing-sme-home-builders

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