OT: Property Development advice needed

Is there anyone out there in UKRM-land that knows about this sort of
stuff, specifically dealing with the local councils.

Outline of the situation - the family farm has been in a state of
being wound down for the last 20 years since my grandfather died. The
main yard, once a mile or so out of the village when my great
grandfather was farming, is now on the outskirts of a small town and
surrounded by housing on three sides. The yard is basically derelict
and we had a farm sale a couple of years back to empty it. Problem is
that the local council is being arsey over planning permissions -
saying it will be classed it as greenfield rather than brownfield and
demanding for outline permission that as much as 50% should be social
housing - estimate is there is about space for 18-20 houses/units.

I would rather develop this ourselves than hand it on for someone else
to profit on - if we can't continue a century of family use then we
should at least try to leverage it to our best advantage. I will
probably have to find a development partner, probably have to raise
some capital and maybe manage this as my parents think they're too old
(ha!).

Anyone have any useful contacts?