- Planning authority
- Bristol City Council
- Postcodes
- BS14
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.3 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Bristol
What shapes a plot in Stockwood
On many backland plots, access matters more than size. A long garden in Stockwood may have no route to the road wide enough for cars, bins and emergency vehicles, and Bristol City Council will look closely at the effect of a new drive on the homes either side of it.
For homes in BS14 we look at access first: the width beside the house, visibility at the pavement, and whether a strip of land owned by someone else sits in the way. If access only works by joining with a neighbour, we’ll say so, and promoting the combined site may be the better route.
The next steps, locally
From first call to completion, a promotion in Stockwood 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.
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.
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
- Planning may be refused. You keep your land and owe nothing for planning, but the months spent can’t be given back.
- You can’t sell the plot to anyone else while the agreement runs, so the term length matters.
- You’ll live next to whatever is built, so the layout, windows and new boundary affect your house too.
Stockwood: questions to ask
Does a mortgage on my Stockwood 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.
Is planning promotion available for a single garden in Stockwood?
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.
What happens if planning is refused for my garden in Stockwood?
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.
Do I pay anything upfront for planning promotion in Stockwood?
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.
Other options in Stockwood
- Corner and side plots
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Garden plot option agreement
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Plot feasibility and design