- Planning authority
- Milton Keynes City Council
- Postcodes
- MK5, MK6, MK8, MK9, MK13
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.4 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Buckinghamshire
How it plays out in Milton Keynes
Every application Milton Keynes City Council decides goes on its public planning register, and a refusal stays there. That record doesn’t stop a later application, but the next scheme has to answer the reasons given. It is one reason we prepare a garden plot in Milton Keynes carefully before submitting: measured survey, access check, separation distances, trees and drainage.
We also check the planning history of your house and the gardens near it, and what the council’s Local Plan says about garden land. Past decisions on nearby plots are often the best guide to what the council will accept.
From first call to decision
From first call to completion, a promotion in Milton Keynes runs in clear stages: free appraisal, heads of terms, agreement, planning application, marketing and sale. You decide at the points that matter most, signing the agreement, setting the minimum price and approving the buyer. Timing depends on the council’s workload, any extra reports it asks for and the buyer’s solicitors, so we give a realistic range rather than a promise.
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.
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.
Completion and payout
On completion, sale costs, our capped planning costs and our fee come out of the proceeds in the order the agreement sets. The balance is paid to you through your solicitor.
Worth checking early
- On a single small plot, fixed costs and our fee take a bigger share of the sale price than on a larger site.
- The plot’s price isn’t known until it’s marketed with permission; it depends on location, size, access and the permission itself.
- Promotion takes longer than a straight sale: planning, then marketing, then completion, and each stage can run on.
Questions about garden plots in Milton Keynes
How long does planning promotion take for a garden in Milton Keynes?
It usually takes longer than a straight sale. Design and surveys often take a few months, then Milton Keynes City Council needs time to decide, and marketing and conveyancing follow. The council’s workload, extra reports and any appeal drive the timing, so we give a realistic range after the appraisal.
Does a mortgage on my Milton Keynes 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.
What happens if planning is refused for my garden in Milton Keynes?
You keep your land and owe nothing for planning, because our costs are only recovered from a sale with planning. Within the term we may revise the scheme and reapply, or appeal if the grounds are strong. If there’s no realistic route to permission, the agreement ends.
Is planning promotion available for a single garden in Milton Keynes?
Yes, if the plot is suitable, though promotion is more usual on larger sites. On one modest garden, the fixed costs of planning, legal work and marketing take a bigger share of the sale. After the free appraisal we’ll tell you whether promotion, a sale subject to planning or an option suits your garden best.
Other options in Milton Keynes
- Large rear gardens
- Garage courts and yards
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Bungalows on large plots
- Garden plot option agreement
- Plot feasibility and design

