- Planning authority
- Buckinghamshire Council
- Postcodes
- HP5
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.3 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Buckinghamshire
How it plays out in Chesham
Before we suggest promotion on a garden in Chesham, we read the council’s Local Plan and any design guidance Buckinghamshire Council publishes on garden land. Those documents shape what is realistic: how close a new home can sit to existing windows, how much garden each house keeps, how wide a shared drive needs to be, and how parking and bins are handled.
If the policies point against a plot, it’s better to know at the appraisal than after a refused application. If they support it, the application is written to answer them directly, which gives the council fewer reasons to say no.
What happens next in Chesham
The first step for a Chesham garden is a conversation and a desktop check, at no cost. We then send written heads of terms covering the term, minimum price, cost cap and fee. Once the agreement is signed, we commission surveys and drawings, take pre-application advice from Buckinghamshire Council where it helps, and submit the application. Marketing starts only after permission is granted.
Free plot appraisal
We check your title plan, access, the surrounding gardens and the policies in the council’s Local Plan as a desktop exercise, then talk it through with you. If it looks viable, we visit. No cost and no obligation.
Heads of terms
We set out the deal in writing: the term, how our fee works, the cap on planning costs we can recover, the minimum price, the marketing approach and the cap on your reasonable legal fees that we cover.
Agreement signed
Your solicitor and ours turn the heads of terms into a promotion agreement. It’s usually protected by an entry on your title, and if your house is mortgaged, your lender is asked to consent early.
We apply for planning
We commission the surveys and drawings, take pre-application advice where it helps, submit the application and deal with the council’s questions. You pay nothing at this stage, and the decision is the council’s.
Worth checking early
- Promotion takes longer than a straight sale: planning, then marketing, then completion, and each stage can run on.
- You can’t sell the plot to anyone else while the agreement runs, so the term length matters.
- The plot’s price isn’t known until it’s marketed with permission; it depends on location, size, access and the permission itself.
Your questions, answered for Chesham
Can neighbours in Chesham combine gardens for a planning promotion?
Yes, and promotion often works better that way. Adjoining gardens can share one access and allow a better layout. Each owner keeps their house, signs an agreement setting out how proceeds are shared, and takes advice from their own solicitor. We can appraise the combined land as one site first.
Do I pay anything upfront for planning promotion in Chesham?
No. We fund the surveys, drawings and planning fees. Those costs are recovered from the sale proceeds, within a cap set in the heads of terms, only if a sale with planning happens. Your reasonable legal fees for the agreement are also covered up to an agreed cap.
Does a mortgage on my Chesham home stop a planning promotion?
No, but your lender has to be involved. The lender’s charge covers the garden, so it must agree to release the plot before it’s sold, and some lenders want to approve the promotion agreement too. We raise this at the start so it doesn’t delay a sale later.
Can you look at my garden in Chesham before I commit to anything?
Yes. The plot appraisal is free and carries no obligation. We start with a desktop check of your title, access and the planning policies that apply, then talk it through with you. If the plot looks viable, we arrange a site visit before any heads of terms are drafted.
Other options in Chesham
- Sell subject to planning
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Plot feasibility and design
- Garage courts and yards

