- Planning authority
- Royal Borough of Greenwich
- Postcodes
- SE2, SE3, SE7, SE9, SE18
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.3 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Greater London
Before you decide in Greenwich
For homes in SE2, SE3, SE7 and SE9, 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 Greenwich or nearby places such as Lewisham, Bexley and Newham, 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.
The next steps, locally
Here’s what happens after you contact us about a garden in Greenwich. We start with a free desktop appraisal of your title plan, access and the policies in the council’s Local Plan, then talk it through with you. If it looks viable, we visit. If promotion fits, we send heads of terms, and your solicitor reviews them, with reasonable legal fees covered up to an agreed cap, before anything is signed.
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.
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.
Worth checking early
- Promotion takes longer than a straight sale: planning, then marketing, then completion, and each stage can run on.
- Planning may be refused. You keep your land and owe nothing for planning, but the months spent can’t be given back.
- On a single small plot, fixed costs and our fee take a bigger share of the sale price than on a larger site.
Greenwich: questions to ask
How is a promoted garden plot in Greenwich sold?
After permission, an agent agreed with you markets the plot to builders, developers and self-builders. You see the offers and approve the buyer. The plot can’t be sold below the agreed minimum price without your written consent, and any offer from us has to stand up against the open market.
Who decides a planning application for a garden plot in Greenwich?
The Royal Borough of Greenwich 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.
Can you look at my garden in Greenwich 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.
Does a mortgage on my Greenwich 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.
Other options in Greenwich
- Bungalows on large plots
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Plot feasibility and design
- Build a new home in your garden
- Sell subject to planning
- Combine gardens with your neighbours

