Developer investment expectations and market conditions cannot justify enabling development

Before purchasing a site, a developer will typically undertake an appraisal to determine the appropriate purchase price that will provide the desired capital return upon their investment. In some cases, a developer may pay a higher price for a development opportunity (hope value) than is justified by market conditions. Alternatively, market conditions may change to such an extent that the developer may not be able to realise the anticipated return on their investment. Both of these scenarios may give rise to calls for enabling development proposals, but cannot justify them.