Early clarity on Brentwood sites, where Green Belt decides so much: what a site can carry, what the council will support and what it is worth.
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A Brentwood site can look full of promise and carry almost none, if Green Belt policy holds it closed, and the gap between the two is exactly what a buyer needs to know before committing. Our pre-planning and feasibility service establishes it: the Green Belt position read against the policy tests first, then the other constraints, access, heritage, flood risk, trees, mapped; capacity tested with sketch layouts where development is achievable; and viability checked so the numbers stand alongside the drawings. Where the council's position needs testing, pre-application advice is sought, typically returning within four to eight weeks, drawing on the architectural design thinking that shapes what is even worth proposing. The study serves purchases, promotion and early design steers alike, at depths from a rapid view to a full appraisal, each scoped and priced in writing first. Where a site is closed by policy, that answer is given early and plainly, before real money follows a false hope.
This is the "should we build?" moment. The team clarifies goals, budget, risks and constraints, explores options (including non-build solutions), and forms the business case. The outcome is a confirmed set of client requirements and a go/no-go decision.
All the groundwork happens here: site information, surveys, statutory context and stakeholder needs are gathered, and the Project Brief and outline programme are agreed. Procurement and planning strategies are sketched so everyone knows the road ahead.
Look at the whole processWith little friction and, usually, a quick site visit. Clients send the site address and the question being asked, through the contact form or to info@aecarchitecture.co.uk, and being local, AEC can often walk the site within days. A short conversation agrees the depth, from a rapid Green Belt and capacity view to a full appraisal with viability and pre-application advice, and the fee is fixed in writing before work begins. The study proceeds through desk research, the site visit and sketch testing, with findings reported plainly and the reasoning shown. Where the answer is proceed, the same local team can carry the project into design and planning without a handover; where it is stop, the study has done its most valuable work.
Billericay and Brentwood are near neighbours, so sites are walked at short notice and the borough is understood first-hand. That proximity turns a feasibility study from a desk exercise into a grounded appraisal, informed by the place itself and by regular dealings with Brentwood Borough Council.
Feasibility in Brentwood is mostly a Green Belt question, and the Academy Estate Consultants group keeps that judgement in-house. Appraisals draw on specialists who read the policy and its tests daily, so the view given on a site reflects what the borough can in practice consent, not what a hopeful buyer wishes for.
Because the practice carries projects from feasibility through design, planning and construction, its studies are written to be built on. Findings translate into the concept design and the planning case that follow, and being local, the same team stays close to the site through every stage that comes after the decision.
It usually sets the ceiling on everything else. Much of the borough sits within Green Belt, where development is limited to defined categories and the openness of the land is strongly protected, so the study reads that position first: what the policy permits on the specific site, and which limited exceptions might apply and what evidence any case would need. Where a site is truly constrained, no amount of design ambition changes the answer, and saying so early saves a buyer from an expensive lesson. Where development is achievable, within a settlement boundary, on previously developed land, or through a policy route that fits, the study tests capacity and viability properly and hands into the planning and approvals stage. Either way the buyer learns what the site truly is before the money commits, which in a borough this constrained is the whole point.
Big Creative Academy
London
Planning secured for a modern teaching block with three fashion studios, a central hub and facilities. AEC led from sketch through planning and technical drawings, then managed construction on site.
View projectIn Brentwood: the Green Belt position read against policy first, then constraint mapping, capacity testing where development is achievable, an initial viability view and a recommended route. Depth is scoped to the decision, from a rapid view to a full appraisal with pre-application advice, and both scope and fee are agreed in writing before the study starts.
Sometimes, within limits. Green Belt permits certain categories of development and strongly protects openness, so the answer depends on the specific site: its boundary, its history and the policy route available. The study reads that position early and reports plainly if a proposal is achievable, so money is not committed to a site policy will keep closed.
Before exchange, and before design fees mount. In a borough where Green Belt can decide a site's whole prospects, a study is cheapest exactly when it matters most: while the decision to buy or walk away is still open. Pre-application advice, where sought, typically takes four to eight weeks and belongs in the timetable.
It depends on depth and the site's complexity, and the fee is fixed and agreed in writing before work begins. A rapid Green Belt and capacity view sits at the lighter end; a full appraisal with viability testing and pre-application advice costs more. Being local keeps time lost to travel out of the cost.
Yes, and being on the doorstep, quickly. A focused study can concentrate on the questions that decide the purchase, the Green Belt position, the realistic capacity and the council's likely stance, and report in time to inform the deal. Existing material from agents or previous owners feeds the study and sharpens it.
A written report covering the Green Belt and constraint position, capacity, viability and a recommended route, with reasoning shown throughout. It is built to support the buy-or-walk decision and to be read by lenders or partners. Where the project proceeds, the findings carry straight into design and planning.
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