Real consent, real plot, real location — priced for an SME developer in a softening NG12 market. Cotgrave is a sought-after Rushcliffe village. The plot has live outline consent (23/02298/OUT) for five executive dwellings within the historic core. At the reduced guide of £595,000 the implied price per plot is £119,000.
However, the headline price is the start of the cost stack, not the end. Reserved matters consent, the new Risegate access road, S106 contributions, drainage and abnormals are all undisclosed. Local market signal is also negative: NG12 average prices are down 6% year-on-year, and Barratt / Taylor Wimpey are running £45–55k discount packages on competing 4-bed new-builds 1.5 miles away.
Right buyer: a regional SME housebuilder with an in-house planning consultant, balance-sheet equity, and the patience for a 24–36 month build-and-sell programme. Wrong buyer: a first-time developer underwriting from the brochure GDV. Bid £500,000. Stretch £540,000. Walk above £560,000 unless reserved matters are pre-discharged or there is verified evidence GDV exceeds £2.4m.
A 0.6-acre infill plot set within the grounds of Cotgrave Manor House, Owthorpe Road, Cotgrave NG12 3JE. The site is in the historic core of the village, surrounded by period dwellings and high-end family housing, with proposed access from Risegate. Cotgrave is in Rushcliffe Borough — the most affluent of Nottinghamshire's local authority districts and a sustained outperformer on prime resi values relative to Greater Nottingham.
Local amenity is genuinely strong: Candleby Lane Primary School (Ofsted Outstanding), redeveloped shopping precinct, modern leisure centre, library, health centre and three supermarkets (Sainsbury's, Co-op, Heron Foods) all within walking distance. Cotgrave Country Park sits on the western edge of the village. Commute to Nottingham city centre is c.20 minutes by road via the A52 / A46 corridor.
The adjacent Manor House and gardens are also available by separate negotiation. This is material — depending on price, a combined acquisition could either expand the scheme footprint or muddy it (covenants, shared access, complications). Treat as a separate decision.
A £595k land acquisition with outline consent has at least six material cost line items between exchange and the first legal completion. None is stated in the agent listing. Premier’s estimates below are based on standard small-site development benchmarks and Rushcliffe BC fee schedules. They are estimates, marked [EST], and require verification by an instructed planning consultant and quantity surveyor before any binding offer.
| Cost Item | Why It Matters | Premier Estimate [EST] |
|---|---|---|
| Reserved matters submission | Outline consent fixes principle of development; reserved matters fix layout, scale, appearance, landscaping, access detail. Architect, planning consultant, ecology, drainage and transport reports required. Typical cycle 6–9 months from instruction. | £35,000–55,000 [EST] · verify with planning consultant. |
| S106 contributions | Affordable housing exempt at 5 units (below Rushcliffe’s 10-unit threshold), but education, open space, healthcare and transport contributions still typical. Quantum locked at the OPC stage but payable on commencement. | £25,000–75,000 [EST] · obtain S106 copy from Rushcliffe BC pre-bid. |
| Risegate access road | New private estate road into a 5-plot scheme. Civils, drainage, retaining wall, lighting and adoption negotiation with Notts CC Highways (S38 / S278). Depends on existing carriageway condition. | £80,000–140,000 [EST] · civils contractor estimate required. |
| Drainage & utilities | Surface water strategy on a sloping infill plot is a known abnormal risk. Drainage channels visible on the indicative layout. Foul connection capacity at Cotgrave WwTW to be confirmed with Severn Trent. | £40,000–90,000 [EST] · Severn Trent pre-app + soakaway test. |
| CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy) | Rushcliffe operates a CIL charging schedule. Residential rate applies per sq m of net additional floorspace. For 5 substantial dwellings, this is a material number. | £30,000–65,000 [EST] · verify rate against current Rushcliffe schedule. |
| Build cost (5 dwellings) | “Executive” spec implies 4-bed detached, 150–180 sq m each. SME builder rate for traditional masonry with Building Regs 2025 / Future Homes Standard compliance. | £1.45–1.75m [EST] · QS to price scheme drawings. |
The brochure says “executive style dwellings” without a sq ft figure or specification. Premier’s GDV estimate uses comparable new-build evidence within Cotgrave and adjacent NG12 villages, calibrated for size, finish and location premium relative to volume housebuilder stock.
| Comparable | Type | Asking Price | Source / Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hollygate Green (Barratt) | 4-bed detached, Cotgrave | £459,995 | Reduced Dec 2025. Volume housebuilder spec. |
| Colston Gardens (Taylor Wimpey) | 4-bed detached, Cotgrave | £450,000 | £55k savings package live. Stressed market signal. |
| Hackett Grange (Avant) | 5-bed detached, Radcliffe-on-Trent | £450,000 | Adjacent NG12 village. Comparable buyer pool. |
| Cotgrave Manor (this scheme) | 4-bed exec detached × 5 | £425–500k each [EST] | Premium for plot size, historic core location, bespoke spec; offset by softening market. |
Standard small-site residual: GDV minus build, infrastructure, fees, finance, contingency and developer profit equals what the land is worth. Premier-modelled at base-case GDV of £2.25m, SME developer cost stack:
| Residual Land Appraisal — Base Case | Amount | % of GDV |
|---|---|---|
| Gross Development Value (5 × £450k) | £2,250,000 | 100% |
| Less: build cost (5 dwellings, ~155 sq m each @ ~£2,050/sq m) | −£1,590,000 | 70.7% |
| Less: external works, civils, Risegate road | −£110,000 | 4.9% |
| Less: drainage / utilities abnormals | −£65,000 | 2.9% |
| Less: professional fees (planning, arch, QS, ecology, surveys) | −£90,000 | 4.0% |
| Less: S106 + CIL | −£100,000 | 4.4% |
| Less: marketing & sales (3% of GDV) | −£67,500 | 3.0% |
| Less: contingency (5% of build + infra) | −£88,000 | 3.9% |
| Less: finance cost (24 mo build, 65% LTC @ ~9% all-in) | −£125,000 | 5.6% |
| Total cost ex-land | £2,235,500 | 99.4% |
| Less: developer profit (20% on total cost) | −£375,000 | 16.7% |
| Residual land value | −£360,500 | negative |
The base-case appraisal is one point estimate. The table below shows residual land value across the plausible range of GDV outcomes and developer margin requirements — with two interpretations: a tight cost stack (lean SME builder, sub-contracted, £1,800/sq m build) and the full cost stack shown above (£2,050/sq m build, 5% contingency, full fees).
| Residual land value — tight cost stack [EST] | 15% margin | 20% margin |
|---|---|---|
| GDV £2.10m (bear — matches Barratt comps) | £75k | negative |
| GDV £2.25m (base) | £215k | £130k |
| GDV £2.50m (bull — bespoke premium achieved) | £430k | £340k |
Total return to an SME developer buying at the £540k stretch level, building over 24 months, and selling units in months 24–36.
NG12 prices flat-to-down a further 3–5%. Sales velocity slow, last unit sells month 36+. Carry costs erode profit. Developer makes £120–180k over the whole programme — barely better than the deposit return.
Market flattens by H2 2026, modest recovery in 2027. Units sell at £440–460k each. Total developer profit £270–320k = ~13% on cost. Acceptable to an experienced SME with multiple sites, marginal as a single-site bet.
Rate cuts and stamp duty changes (post-2026 Budget) reignite mid-market resi demand. Bespoke spec premium of £30–50k per unit achieved over volume housebuilder. Total developer profit £450–500k.
| Tier | Risk | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|
| 🔴 HIGH | Reserved matters refusal or material amendment. Outline consent fixes principle but not detail. Highways / drainage / design pushback at RM stage can delay 9–18 months or force unit reduction. | Pre-app meeting with Rushcliffe planners before exchange. Instruct planning consultant familiar with Rushcliffe officer team. Walk if RM concerns flagged. |
| 🔴 HIGH | NG12 market continues to soften. Volume housebuilders are discounting heavily — SME schemes are price-takers. A further 5–10% drop in NG12 GDV crushes margin. | Underwrite at GDV £2.10m (bear case). Plan staged sales, not a single launch. Build to mortgageable spec (NHBC) to maximise buyer pool. |
| 🔴 HIGH | Risegate access road costs. Existing carriageway condition, statutory undertaker diversions, and S278 / S38 adoption negotiations with Notts CC can move £110k estimate to £200k+ without ceremony. | Civils contractor walks site before bid. Obtain S278 indicative letter from Notts CC Highways pre-exchange. |
| 🟡 MED | S106 and CIL escalation. Unpriced at outline. Final quantum locked in S106 negotiation post-RM. Rushcliffe S106 templates can include affordable housing trigger clauses on conversions to >5 units. | Request draft S106 from Rushcliffe BC pre-bid. Confirm 5-unit cap is not subject to viability review. |
| 🟡 MED | Drainage abnormals. Indicative layout shows three drainage channels — on a sloping plot in a historic village, surface water management is non-trivial. Severn Trent capacity at Cotgrave WwTW unknown. | Soakaway / percolation tests pre-exchange. Severn Trent pre-application assessment. Budget £90k upper-bound. |
| 🟡 MED | Build cost inflation. Future Homes Standard (October 2025) and ongoing materials volatility. SME builders without locked supply chains exposed to 3–6% pa drift. | Lock build contract with fixed-price elements where possible. 5% contingency is the floor, not the target. |
| 🟡 MED | Finance terms. SME development finance for sub-£3m GDV schemes is currently 8.5–10% all-in. 24-month build adds finance cost discipline pressure. | Obtain AIP from 2–3 SME-friendly lenders (Hampshire Trust, Shawbrook, regional building societies) pre-exchange. |
| 🟢 LOW | Location quality. Cotgrave is a sustained-demand Rushcliffe village with Outstanding primary school and full amenity stack. Buyer pool is stable. | Standard marketing programme. Local agent panel including Frank Innes, FHP, Royston & Lund. |
| 🟢 LOW | Planning principle. Outline consent in place; Manor House not listed; not in Conservation Area. Reduces (but does not eliminate) RM stage planning risk. | Confirm consent is implemented within statutory time limit. Check no JR or third-party challenge pending. |
At £500k, the scheme delivers a 12–14% net margin under the tight cost stack at base-case GDV — and 18%+ if the bespoke premium lands. Anchors the bid in residual reality given current evidence, the soft NG12 market, and the cost-stack overhang. The Premier opening bid.
Acceptable only with: (1) S106 quantum confirmed <£50k, (2) Risegate civils estimate locked <£120k by named contractor, (3) Severn Trent drainage capacity confirmed, (4) reserved matters pre-app sign-off. Margin compresses to ~10–12% under base case.
At £560k+ the developer is taking outline-consent risk, market risk, and cost-stack risk for a sub-10% net margin in the base case. Premier walks. Cotgrave and Rushcliffe will produce other plots over the next 12 months as the market resets.
The site itself is sound. Cotgrave is a quality Rushcliffe village with sustained demand, the consent removes the hardest planning risk, and the location within the historic core supports a small premium over volume housebuilder stock. This is a credible 5-unit SME developer scheme.
But the asking price is calibrated to a market that hasn’t existed for 12 months. NG12 is down 6% year-on-year. Volume builders 1.5 miles away are discounting hard. The cost stack between exchange and the first sale is at least £1.9m on top of land, and the residual valuation does not stack at £595,000 unless the developer accepts a sub-15% margin or believes GDV will exceed £2.4m. Neither is the default position; both must be argued, not assumed.
Right buyer: a regional SME housebuilder with in-house planning capacity, balance-sheet equity, and genuine confidence in their Cotgrave-specific GDV. Wrong buyer: a first-time developer underwriting from the brochure, expecting outline consent to do the heavy lifting. Bid £500,000. Stretch £540,000 only with verified S106 quantum, civils estimate, and drainage capacity. Walk above £560,000.