RICS Publishes Draft Guidance on Measurement of Land

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has published a draft guidance note, Measurement of Land for Development and Planning Purposes (1st edition), and is seeking comments on it.

The draft guidance proposes the following five core definitions to assist with the measurement of land:

• Land Area: To be used to refer to the legal title area of land.
• Site Area: To be used to refer to the area of land used for planning application purposes.
• Net Development Area: To be used to refer to the area from which financial value is directly derived, by virtue of either being income-producing or for sale.
• Plot Ratio: This is the ratio of Gross External Area (GEA) of a building or buildings at each floor area, under the International Property Measurement Standards, to the site area, and is already used as a standard metric for planning and design in certain sectors and jurisdictions.
• Site Coverage: This is the ratio of the building footprint’s GEA to the site area at ground-floor level, and is already a standard metric for planning and design in certain sectors and jurisdictions.

The consultation on the draft guidance note closes on 17 September 2019, with a view to formal adoption at the end of the year.

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