ABSTRACT
Once a potential site has been identified, or a number of sites put up for selection, it is necessary to analyze the respective merits or otherwise of each before a formal development valuation can be conducted. In many ways, this stage of appraisal is one of the most important in the development process and, given the ever tighter margins within which development takes place, deserves more attention than it has sometimes received. Several well reported cases of professional negligence highlight the need to undertake critical surveys and investigations with care and consideration. The project size, capital resource commitment and degree of community concern evoked determines the level of analytical detail required. This chapter does not cover in depth the extensive detailed analysis that would normally underlie summary calculations and recommendations undertaken for major development projects. Rather, the intent is to indicate the basic nature of the comprehensive methodology that should be employed in the appraisal of development sites.
