This course follows on from Understanding the Development Process, and looks in more detail at the early stages in development management, including site finding, negotiation, valuation, milestone planning and the conveyancing process.

Suitable for Development and Regeneration staff who are reasonably new to the discipline, and staff from other teams within Registered Providers who are drafted into Development project teams.

Covering the following areas:

1. Risk management
2. Site finding
3. Types of land purchase contracts
4. Inception
5. Feasibility studies – what, who, when and why
6. Abnormal costs
7. Valuation of land and property
8. Conveyancing the process and common issues – easements, covenants and title issues
9. Project planning
   • The principles of project planning
   • Apply risk management principles 
   • Creating the risk register 
   • Critical path
   • Creating a project plan using MS Project
   • Monitoring the project plan

Duration: 2 days

Intensive interactive learning with exercises.

No pre-course reading is necessary. Some of the documents we will discuss are listed below. It is helpful if you are familiar with these. Please also bring along any examples you would like to discuss.

1.  The report on a completed desktop site investigation
2. A valuation report for a site you have purchased.
3. A report on title for a site you have purchased (or not purchased due to the report)
4. A project Gantt Chart (preferably one for the whole project, from inception through to completion. If that is not available, bring a contractor’s programme).

If you are unsure what documents in your files will give you this information, ask your manager who should be able to help.

You will find it helpful to look over the relevant Topics in Developing Affordable Housing, published by the National Housing Federation. It is available here.

This course is designed to follow on from Understanding the Development Process. It is preferable, although not essential, that delegates should either have attended that course or have an equivalent level of knowledge.

On completion of this course you will be provided with a CPD certificate.