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Dev Assist We audit locations for Conveyancing Solicitors' clients to assess development risks near a property. Don’t let your new dream home become a nightmare!

Even now, developers could be eyeing up a plot of land near the house you’re about to buy. And the chances are you won’t know anything about it. But we will...
DevAssess is a unique new report that includes existing planning information and identifies unexploited development sites. In approximately 10% of cases the searched property has hidden value revealed. DevEstate is our probate product that simply gives a development opinion on a property asset. The team at DevAssist have far too often seen property assets sold for far less then their true value, principally because no one ever thought to investigate its true potential. Now in less than 24 hours you can quickly see if the asset has the potential to be exploited for an alternative use and perhaps an increase in its value. Information is power. Make sure it’s in your hands. Before you buy, ask your solicitor or search provider for a DevAssist report. It’s the nearest you’ll get to seeing into the future! In association with:

Ordnance Survey Groundsure Landmark
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WHAT A FRIDAY 🇬🇧Last Friday we had a brilliant afternoon at The Best of British Events Tunbridge Wells and we were proud...
16/10/2026

WHAT A FRIDAY 🇬🇧

Last Friday we had a brilliant afternoon at The Best of British Events Tunbridge Wells and we were proud to be one of the events co-sponsors.

A huge thank you to Daley Thompson CBE, widely considered Britains greatest ever Olympian, for being such a great guest. Its not every day you share a room with a sporting legend!

Thank you to Best of British Events for putting on such a well-run day, and thank you as well to everyone who supported The Starr Trust.

We had such a great time on the DevAssist table. Thank you to all our guests for making it such a lovely afternoon.

Until next time!

TOMORROW: PNLA LONDON CONFERENCETomorrow Paul Addison will be at Outer Temple Chambers on the Strand for the Professiona...
14/10/2026

TOMORROW: PNLA LONDON CONFERENCE

Tomorrow Paul Addison will be at Outer Temple Chambers on the Strand for the Professional Negligence Lawyers Association's London Conference, hosted by Cardium Law and Outer Temple Chambers.

It's a packed programme with some of the sharpest minds in professional negligence.

Thank you to every speaker giving up their time, and to Jayna Patel for chairing the day.

Why we go: As a PNLA specialist, Paul brings the planning and development knowledge that property negligence claims rely on. In return, we learn how those cases play out, and that makes both sides sharper.

Going too? Come and say hello!

📞 01342 890 010
✉️ [email protected]
🌐 www.devassist.co.uk

REFUSED DOESN’T MEAN FINISHED. The council rejected it. An inspector allowed it. 600 homes. For a buyer banking on the c...
14/10/2026

REFUSED DOESN’T MEAN FINISHED.

The council rejected it. An inspector allowed it. 600 homes.

For a buyer banking on the countryside next door staying untouched, that is a very different future.

Our latest blog looks at the Buntingford appeal and the message for conveyancing solicitors: a planning refusal is no guarantee that development is off the table.

Your client is buying the property. But what happens around it could change why they wanted it in the first place.

We investigate development risk before buyers commit. Because finding out while you still have choices beats finding out when the diggers arrive.

Read the blog:

https://www.devassist.co.uk/the-council-said-no-600-homes-were-allowed-anyway/

FREE WEBINAR: PLANNING RISK. WHAT COULD YOUR CLIENT BE MISSING?A local search tells you what the council has already put...
13/10/2026

FREE WEBINAR: PLANNING RISK. WHAT COULD YOUR CLIENT BE MISSING?

A local search tells you what the council has already put in writing. It doesn't tell you what's coming.

On the 3rd November at 11.00am, we're teaming up with The Search Bureau to look at that gap, and what it could mean for you and your clients.

Some information we'll cover:

✅ How to spot development risk before a planning application appears
✅ What Local Plans, SHELAA and housing land supply actually tell you
✅ The legal implications when development risk is missed

The planning system is changing fast. Councils are missing their housing supply targets, grey belt land is opening up, and sites that weren't in any local plan are getting permission. The development your client hasn't heard about yet is the one most likely to cause a problem.

If you advise on property transactions, don't wait to become the case study.

Book your FREE place now 👇

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8617907793110/WN_I60VorTMR-eiXCKKt9z1kQ

THAT FIELD BEHIND THE HOUSE? ITS FUTURE COULD BE CHANGING. No planning application. No diggers. Still the same view. But...
08/10/2026

THAT FIELD BEHIND THE HOUSE? ITS FUTURE COULD BE CHANGING.

No planning application. No diggers. Still the same view.

But behind the scenes, housing pressures and changes in planning policy could affect its potential for development.

That’s why “nothing’s been applied for” doesn’t tell you everything.

Our latest blog explores how the planning picture around a property can change before anything happens on the ground, and why buyers and their solicitors should look beyond nearby planning applications.

DevAssist’s range of reports helps uncover potential development risks before buyers commit.

Because the time to ask what could be built beyond the garden fence is before you get the keys.

Read the full blog — https://www.devassist.co.uk/the-planning-risk-around-your-clients-property-may-have-just-changed/

A standard search may complete the transaction. It may not protect the solicitor.More than 20% of legal complaints are d...
27/08/2026

A standard search may complete the transaction. It may not protect the solicitor.

More than 20% of legal complaints are directed at conveyancing, many involving planning issues. Yet standard searches still reveal only part of the picture.

If nearby development risk is missed before exchange and later affects value, the solicitor may be exposed. DevAssist investigates beyond the property boundary, helping firms identify risk before it becomes a complaint.

Visit our website to find out more.

Two hundred homes have been approved on green belt land on the edge of Macclesfield.The key issue at appeal was not whet...
25/08/2026

Two hundred homes have been approved on green belt land on the edge of Macclesfield.

The key issue at appeal was not whether Macclesfield was a historic town. It was whether this particular site made a strong enough contribution to preserving its historic setting to justify continued green belt protection.

The inspector concluded that it did not, allowing the land to be treated as grey belt.

In his latest article, DevAssist founder Paul Addison looks at what the decision tells us about the way planning designations are interpreted in practice, and why buyers and conveyancers need to look beyond the label attached to nearby land.

Because the existence of green belt protection is only part of the picture. How that protection applies to an individual site can be just as important.

Read the full article: https://bit.ly/4c0Tkwr

Fun fact of the month!There is a 16-sided house in England.A La Ronde in Devon was built in the late 18th century and ha...
24/08/2026

Fun fact of the month!

There is a 16-sided house in England.

A La Ronde in Devon was built in the late 18th century and has no traditional square rooms. Its unusual shape was designed by cousins Jane and Mary Parminter after returning from their travels around Europe.

With 16 sides, striking interiors and a layout unlike almost any other British home, it is proof that property has never had to follow the usual blueprint.

21/08/2026

A standard search just gives you data. DevAssist explains what it could mean.

In this video, Georgia Addison explains how our experts look beyond the property boundary to assess current and future development risk before exchange.

For buyers, that means a clearer picture of the location they are purchasing into. For conveyancers, it means expert interpretation rather than raw planning data alone.

Don’t just collect data. Understand it.

Could an estate property be worth more than its current use suggests?Executors have a responsibility to achieve the best...
20/08/2026

Could an estate property be worth more than its current use suggests?

Executors have a responsibility to achieve the best possible value for an asset, but development potential can be easy to overlook when a property is being prepared for sale. A DevProbate report examines residential and commercial properties under 0.25 acres in the same way a developer would, identifying opportunities such as extensions, redevelopment or a change of use.

That insight can help solicitors, executors and other advisers avoid underselling an asset before its full potential has been understood.

Learn more about DevProbate on the DevAssist website.

Address

East Grinstead
RH193AF

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 9am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 9am - 5:30pm
Thursday 9am - 5:30pm
Friday 9am - 5:30pm

Telephone

+441342890010

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