- Planning authority
- Portsmouth City Council
- Postcodes
- PO1, PO2, PO3, PO4, PO5
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Noon sun, 21 December
- About 16°
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Hampshire
The kinds of plot we look at in Portsmouth
Sometimes the plot that works isn’t a single garden at all. Two or three adjoining back gardens in Portsmouth can often be combined into one scheme with one shared access, giving a better layout than any of them alone. Each owner keeps their house, and a collaboration agreement with an equalisation clause shares the value fairly. If your own garden is too narrow or too short to work on its own, it’s worth asking whether the neighbours might be interested too.
Planning and light in Portsmouth
Shadows tell a council a lot about a garden plot. In Portsmouth, the noon sun on 21 December reaches only about 16° above the horizon, while by 21 March it has climbed to around 39°, when a 5 m eaves line casts a shadow of roughly 6.1 m. On a garden plot anywhere in PO1, PO2, PO3 and PO4, that difference shapes how far apart the old and new homes need to be, which windows face which way, and whether a single-storey or roof-lit design would sit more comfortably. Planning officers at Portsmouth City Council will expect those effects on neighbours to be understood before they decide.
What we can do in Portsmouth
Sell or partner
- Sell part of your garden
- Sell subject to planning
- Garden plot option agreement
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
Design and build
- Build a new home in your garden
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Plot feasibility and design
By plot type
- Large rear gardens
- Corner and side plots
- Garage courts and yards
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Bungalows on large plots
What happens next
When you’re ready, tell us about your land in Portsmouth. A few photos help but aren’t essential. We’ll come back with a straight view of whether the plot could take a new home and which routes might suit you, from a sale to design and build. If it’s not a good fit, we’ll say so, and there’s nothing to pay either way.
Questions about garden plots in Portsmouth
Can I sell part of my garden in Portsmouth?
Often, yes, if the plot is big enough, has a workable access and stands a reasonable chance of planning. We buy suitable plots directly, with or without planning, subject to survey, title and contract, or agree a sale that only completes if Portsmouth City Council grants permission. If planning is refused on a conditional sale, you keep your land.
What happens if planning is refused for a plot in Portsmouth?
If you agreed a sale subject to planning, the contract doesn’t complete and you keep your land. We’ll then look at the reasons Portsmouth City Council gave and tell you honestly whether a revised application, an appeal or stopping is the sensible choice. Nothing about your own house changes.
Do you look at garage courts and yards in Portsmouth?
Yes. Garage courts, lock-up blocks, old yards and outbuildings behind houses can sometimes take a new home, especially where a vehicle access already exists. We check who owns the access, what rights others have over it and what the ground was used for, as part of the free appraisal.
Can I team up with my neighbours in Portsmouth?
Yes, and it can make a weak plot workable. Combining adjoining gardens can allow one shared access and a better layout. Each owner keeps their house, and a collaboration agreement sets out decisions, costs and how value is shared through equalisation. Every household should have its own solicitor.