The hidden issues that can derail development projects

If there’s one property development rule of law we could put on a bumper sticker, it’d be this:

“Things rarely go completely to plan”.  

That’s not to say there are disasters waiting around every corner. It’s more that you have to have a certain amount of flexibility in property development. Like a good off-road vehicle, you need a robust suspension that can handle a few bumps in the road and four-wheel drive to get you out of the occasional crevasse.

Sites often look great on paper. The planning appears achievable, the location works, demand is there and most importantly the numbers stack up.

But there are so many potential spanners that can throw themselves into the spokes. It could be the big and obvious issues that we’re all aware of, but often, it’s one of hundreds of possible smaller issues.

These smaller issues are sometimes not on your radar, but if you’re not careful, they can compound and combine to make a bigger one.

In this article, we’re going to look at some of these issues so you can keep them front of mind when working towards your next scheme.  

Utilities can become major headaches

Utilities are rarely the most exciting part of a development appraisal and they're certainly not the reason anyone buys a site. But electricity capacity, water connections, sewer upgrades and gas infrastructure can and do have a significant impact on both programme and viability.

It’s not unknown for developers to encounter unexpected grid constraints, particularly on larger schemes or sites in areas where infrastructure is already under pressure. What you don’t want is for what appears to be a routine connection, becoming a lengthy and expensive process involving reinforcement works, additional permissions and substantial delays.

The challenge is that this issue and issues like it aren’t always obvious at the early stages of site acquisition and you might have already spent a lot of time and money on the project before you unearth it.  

Rights of light and neighbouring interests can reshape a scheme

We always want our developments to work in conjunction with the existing properties. Most of the time, when you do your job well, that’s not an issue. But humans are unpredictable, and sometimes, you’ll get individuals or large portions of a community opposing your plans, and in some cases with good reason.

Rights of light issues, overlooking concerns, oversailing rights and other neighbour-related constraints can all affect what ultimately gets built.

Much of the time, these issues are manageable, but sometimes, they’ll require design changes, legal agreements or lengthy negotiations. Occasionally they can fundamentally alter the viability of a scheme. This is the worstcase scenario.

If you’re a developer doing regular work in dense urban environments, it’s likely you’ll have a healthy respect for these complications. If you’re working in this area for the first time, you might be surprised by how much influence neighbouring properties can have over your project.

Access is easy until it isn't

Access can be one of those things you don’t worry about until you have to. Maybe the site is already “a site” and not just a field, with easy access for vehicles and an established route. However, even with all that in place, access arrangements might still be unsuitable for the proposed development.

During both planning and delivery, you can run into questions around ownership, visibility splays, construction access, maintenance responsibilities and highway requirements. What once looked simple can suddenly become a roadblock, providing you with a technical and/or legal challenge.

In some cases, you could find yourself redesigning schemes around access constraints that could have been identified much earlier.

Statutory bodies not in step with your programme

One of the most common causes of frustration in development is relying on organisations that operate entirely to their own timetable.

Network Rail, utility providers, highways authorities, environmental agencies, council bodies and various statutory consultees all play important roles in the delivery process. Make no bones about it, we need them onside to achieve our development goals. The challenge is that we have very little control over how quickly these organisations respond.

Schemes can be delayed by months or longer because a required approval, consent or technical response simply wasn't forthcoming.

In and of itself, this doesn’t make a project unviable, but we can create problems when we build programmes around best-case assumptions rather than realistic expectations. This is something we cover in our article about the perils of blind optimism.

Title issues have a habit of appearing late

Nobody likes legal complexity except lawyers themselves. For us on the other end of it, these complexities can be really frustrating because they're often hidden until detailed investigations start. Restrictive covenants, ransom strips, ownership discrepancies and rights reserved to third parties can all affect your best laid plans.

Happily, the solution is often straightforward, but you can’t rely on this being the case. It’s only straightforward until it isn’t. When it’s not a quick and easy fix, it involves lengthy negotiations, additional costs or significant amendments to the scheme.

You probably won’t see these issues make headlines, but they regularly influence project viability. It's one of the reasons experienced developers spend so much time scrutinising legal information before committing to a site. The cost of uncovering a problem early is almost always lower than the cost of discovering it halfway through delivery.

Drainage isn't glamorous, but it’s important

You’d be forgiven for not getting overly excited about drainage strategies. But nevertheless, drainage is a massively important part of development in 2026. Surface water requirements, sewer capacity, easements and flood mitigation measures all have big effects on both design and cost.

Like utilities, these issues often sit quietly in the background until someone investigates them properly. Once they emerge, they can require costly and time-consuming design changes.

Why experience matters

None of these issues are particularly unusual or rare. They’re everyday complications that arise on development projects across the country. An experienced developer will expect some to crop up whenever they commence work on a new project.  

At VM Finance, we've found that the best conversations happen before a site is acquired or before a scheme reaches a critical stage. That's when assumptions can be challenged, risks identified and realistic plans put in place.

As a matter of process and habit, experienced developers will do this due diligence on every scheme they work on. We talk about the importance of this in our blog about the dangers of blind optimism. Thinking everything will be alright without challenging it will invariably cause problems.

Realistically, however, you won’t always be able to catch every potential problem before it arises. It’s one of the reasons why development is so challenging. In these situations, flexibility and a relationship-led funding partner is massively important.

As one such funding partner, we offer the flexibility funders need to navigate these issues, finding a route forward with our clients rather than unhelpful rigidity.

Got a new scheme you’re working on and looking for funding support? We’d love to hear from you.  

Contact us today.

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