It is not unusual for development land to be affected by covenants that limit or restrict its future use. It is, however, important to take appropriate action to mitigate against the risk of breaching those covenants before development commences.

In the recent case of Fosse Urban Projects Ltd v Whyte & Ors [2023] UKUT 286 (LC), the Upper Tribunal was not willing to allow a developer's application to discharge a restrictsive covenant, where the developer had already completed development works in breach of that covenant.