Backland Development
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Planning promotion for garden plots in Weymouth

If you’d rather find out what the market pays for your Weymouth garden plot once it has planning than accept a fixed figure today, planning promotion is built for that. We pay to seek permission, an agreed agent markets the plot if it is granted, and you approve the buyer and the terms.

A minimum price agreed at the start means the plot can’t be sold below it without your written consent. Sale costs, our capped planning costs and our fee are deducted on completion, and the balance goes to you through your solicitor. Value depends on the plot’s location, size, access and permission, so we won’t guess a figure before the appraisal.

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White architectural model of a house at the front of a plot with two new homes at the end of the garden
Planning authority
Dorset Council
Postcodes
DT3, DT4
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.1 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Dorset

Weymouth: light, access and policy

For homes in DT3 and DT4, a garden plot with planning permission doesn’t have to sell to a buyer from the same street. A promoted plot can be offered to builders and self-builders from Weymouth or nearby places such as Portland, Dorchester and Poole, and from further afield, through an agent agreed with you. The aim is enough interest to test the price properly, rather than one quiet offer.

You see every offer, approve the buyer and keep the protection of a minimum price. If we want to bid ourselves, the price has to stand up against the open market, for example through an independent valuation.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Weymouth: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 16 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.1 m21 Dec, noon: sun 16°, shadow 17.5 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Weymouth on 21 March sits about 39° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.1 m. In December the sun is only about 16° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

What happens next in Weymouth

From first call to completion, a promotion in Weymouth 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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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’ll live next to whatever is built, so the layout, windows and new boundary affect your house too.
  • Promotion takes longer than a straight sale: planning, then marketing, then completion, and each stage can run on.

Weymouth: questions to ask

How long does planning promotion take for a garden in Weymouth?

It usually takes longer than a straight sale. Design and surveys often take a few months, then Dorset 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.

Who decides a planning application for a garden plot in Weymouth?

Dorset Council decides it, using the council’s Local Plan and national policy in the NPPF. Nobody can promise the outcome. Under promotion we prepare and submit the application at our cost and deal with the council’s questions, but the decision is the council’s, and it can grant, refuse or ask for changes.

Is planning promotion available for a single garden in Weymouth?

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 Weymouth?

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.

Other options in Weymouth

Planning promotion near Weymouth

Find out what your garden could become

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

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