Backland development in Bishop's Stortford

Selling part of your garden and building on it yourself are very different things, and owners in Bishop’s Stortford can do either with us. Selling means you receive money for the plot and the new home belongs to someone else. Building means you keep the land, take on the cost and end up with a new home of your own.

Between those two sit options, planning promotion and joint ventures, where you share more of the outcome without managing the build yourself. A town like Bishop’s Stortford can have very different plots from one street to the next, so the free garden plot appraisal is where we start. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing.

Planning authority
East Hertfordshire District Council
Postcodes
CM22, CM23
Noon sun, 21 March
About 38°
Noon sun, 21 December
About 15°
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Hertfordshire

The kinds of plot we look at in Bishop's Stortford

A bungalow on a big plot gives you more choices than most homes. You might keep the bungalow and build a new home beside or behind it, or replace it with two or more homes if the council would support that. We also look at long back gardens, corner plots, garage courts, yards and land with tricky access across Bishop’s Stortford and nearby places such as Harlow, Ware and Hoddesdon. The free appraisal shows which of these choices are realistic for your land, and what each would involve.

Planning and light in Bishop's Stortford

If your plot is in Bishop’s Stortford, the application will normally go to East Hertfordshire District Council, which judges it against its Local Plan and the council’s design guide or supplementary planning document. Those documents set local expectations on design, parking, garden sizes and how new homes should relate to the street, while the NPPF sets the wider national framework. For an address in CM22 and CM23 or nearby, the exact postcode also tells us which flood maps, sewer records and tree orders to check. Where it helps, we ask the council for pre-application advice before anything is drawn in detail.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Bishop's Stortford: about 38 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 38°, shadow 6.4 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 19.1 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Bishop's Stortford on 21 March sits about 38° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.4 m. In December the sun is only about 15° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

What we can do in Bishop's Stortford

Sell or partner

Design and build

By plot type

What happens next

Getting a first view of your plot in Bishop’s Stortford costs nothing. Send us the address through the form, or give us a call, and we’ll check access, size, title and the planning picture from our desk. If it looks promising, we’ll visit, explain the routes that could work and put the main terms in writing before you’re asked to decide anything.

Questions about garden plots in Bishop's Stortford

Is there a charge for assessing my plot in Bishop's Stortford?

No. The garden plot appraisal is free and carries no obligation. We do a desktop check of access, size, title and the planning picture, talk it through with you and arrange a site visit if it looks viable. You can stop at any point without owing anything.

Can I team up with my neighbours in Bishop's Stortford?

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.

Do you look at garage courts and yards in Bishop's Stortford?

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.

What happens if planning is refused for a plot in Bishop's Stortford?

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 East Hertfordshire District Council gave and tell you honestly whether a revised application, an appeal or stopping is the sensible choice. Nothing about your own house changes.

Nearby

Find out what your garden could become

Free garden plot appraisal. No cost, no obligation, and a straight answer if it won’t work.