- Planning authority
- Wealden District Council
- Postcodes
- TN6
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.2 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- East Sussex
The local picture in Crowborough
At noon on 21 March the sun over Crowborough sits about 39° above the horizon, so a two-storey eaves line around 5 m high casts a shadow of roughly 6.2 m. By 21 December, with the sun at about 15°, that shadow is far longer. Wealden District Council will weigh how a new home affects daylight and sunlight to your house and the gardens next door.
Under promotion we test this before applying, because a refusal on overshadowing costs time even though it doesn’t cost you money. Moving the new home, lowering the eaves or turning the roof can make the difference.
The next steps, locally
Nothing is signed until you’ve seen the heads of terms and taken advice. Call us or use the form with your Crowborough address, a rough idea of where the garden runs, and whether neighbours might join in. We’ll check the title, access and planning history first, then tell you plainly whether promotion, a sale subject to planning or another route suits your plot.
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
- Promotion takes longer than a straight sale: planning, then marketing, then completion, and each stage can run on.
- You’ll live next to whatever is built, so the layout, windows and new boundary affect your house too.
- On a single small plot, fixed costs and our fee take a bigger share of the sale price than on a larger site.
Crowborough: questions to ask
Can you look at my garden in Crowborough 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.
Do I pay anything upfront for planning promotion in Crowborough?
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.
Can neighbours in Crowborough 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.
How long does planning promotion take for a garden in Crowborough?
It usually takes longer than a straight sale. Design and surveys often take a few months, then Wealden District 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.
Other options in Crowborough
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Bungalows on large plots
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Sell subject to planning
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Build a home for family in your garden