- Nation
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- National planning policy
- NPPF
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- City
- Truro
Before you start in Cornwall
Councils across Cornwall tend to judge a garden plot on a short list of tests: whether the access is safe and won’t disturb neighbours, whether the new home fits the pattern of the area, and whether existing homes keep their privacy, daylight and enough garden. Many councils use separation guides of around 21 metres between facing back windows, though your council’s own guide decides. We check those tests at the appraisal stage, before any planning money is spent.
Planning authorities covering Cornwall include Cornwall Council.
How it works
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.
Marketing and sale
With permission granted, the plot is marketed as the agreement sets out. You see the offers and approve the buyer, and the plot can’t be sold below the minimum price without your written consent.
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.
Planning promotion in towns across Cornwall
Questions about planning promotion in Cornwall
What does planning promotion cost a garden owner in Cornwall?
Nothing upfront. We pay for surveys, drawings and planning fees, and recover them from the sale proceeds, within an agreed cap, only if a sale with planning happens. Our fee also comes from the proceeds, on a basis agreed in writing. Your reasonable legal fees for the agreement are covered up to a cap in the heads of terms.
Which planning rules apply to garden plots in Cornwall?
National policy in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) applies, alongside the Local Plan of the council where the land sits. Councils look at access, character, privacy, daylight, garden space, trees, parking, bins, drainage and flood risk. Practical rules matter too, including biodiversity net gain rules and fire engine access (or other measures, often sprinklers, agreed with building control and the fire service where a fire engine can’t get close enough).
How long does a planning promotion usually take in Cornwall?
Longer than selling the land as it stands. Surveys and design often take a few months, the council then needs time to decide, and marketing and conveyancing follow. Council workload, requests for extra reports and any appeal drive the timing, so we give a realistic range after the appraisal rather than a promise.
Do I need my own solicitor to sell a plot in Cornwall?
Yes, always. Your solicitor checks the contract, deals with the transfer of part at HM Land Registry and asks your mortgage lender to release the plot if the house is mortgaged. On option and promotion agreements we cover your reasonable legal fees, with the cap agreed in heads of terms before work starts.