- Nation
- England
- Planning authorities
- 14
- Towns we cover
- 26
- City
- Chelmsford
Sell, partner or build in Essex
There are two broad routes for garden land in Essex. If you want to keep your house and step back from the development, you can sell the plot to us, with or without planning, or agree a sale subject to planning, an option, promotion or a joint venture. If you want to keep the land as well, we can design, seek planning for and build a new home on it for you to sell, let or use for family.
Sell or partner
- Sell part of your garden in Essex
- Sell subject to planning in Essex
- Garden plot option agreement in Essex
- Planning promotion for your garden plot in Essex
- Joint venture on your garden plot in Essex
- Combine gardens with your neighbours in Essex
Design and build
- Build a new home in your garden in Essex
- Planning permission for a garden plot in Essex
- Build a home for family in your garden in Essex
- Plot feasibility and design in Essex
By plot type
- Large rear gardens in Essex
- Corner and side plots in Essex
- Garage courts and yards in Essex
- Tandem and landlocked plots in Essex
- Bungalows on large plots in Essex
The planning picture in Essex
Nationally, the NPPF sets the framework that every council in England works within. Locally, each planning authority across Essex applies its own Local Plan policies and design guidance, which is why two similar gardens a few miles apart can get different answers. The councils here include Basildon Borough Council, Braintree District Council, Brentwood Borough Council, Castle Point Borough Council, Chelmsford City Council and other councils. Before any money is spent on drawings, we check which policies apply to your address, whether the council has published guidance on garden land, and how decisions on similar plots have gone. That research is part of the free appraisal.
Planning authorities: Basildon Borough Council, Braintree District Council, Brentwood Borough Council, Castle Point Borough Council, Chelmsford City Council, Colchester City Council, Epping Forest District Council, Harlow District Council, Maldon District Council, Rochford District Council, Southend-on-Sea City Council, Tendring District Council, Thurrock Council, Uttlesford District Council.
Towns in Essex
- Southend-on-Sea
- Basildon
- Colchester
- Chelmsford
- Harlow
- Grays
- Braintree
- Brentwood
- Clacton-on-Sea
- Benfleet
- Canvey Island
- Billericay
- Loughton
- Rayleigh
- Stanford-le-Hope
- Wickford
- Witham
- Maldon
- Waltham Abbey
- South Ockendon
- Harwich
- Hadleigh
- Walton-on-the-Naze
- Frinton-on-Sea
- Rochford
- Saffron Walden
Questions about garden plots in Essex
Do I need my own solicitor to sell a plot in Essex?
Yes, always. Your solicitor checks the contract, deals with the transfer of part at HM Land Registry and asks your mortgage lender to release the plot if the house is mortgaged. On option and promotion agreements we cover your reasonable legal fees, with the cap agreed in heads of terms before work starts.
Can neighbours in Essex combine their gardens?
Yes. Putting two or more adjoining back gardens together can allow one shared access and a better layout than separate plots. Each owner keeps their house. The owners usually sign a collaboration agreement, with an equalisation clause so that value is shared fairly even though only one garden provides the access. Each household should take its own legal advice.
How much is a garden plot in Essex worth?
It depends on location, size, access, title and, above all, planning. Two similar gardens in the same street can be worth very different amounts if one has easy access and the other doesn’t. We don’t quote figures before we’ve looked at a plot properly; the free appraisal is the way to find out.
Which council decides planning for a garden plot in Essex?
The council for your address decides. The planning authorities covering Essex include Basildon Borough Council, Braintree District Council, Brentwood Borough Council, Castle Point Borough Council, Chelmsford City Council and other councils. Each judges applications against its own Local Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), together with its design guidance. We prepare and submit the application and deal with the council’s questions, but the decision is always the council’s, never ours.