Backland Development
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Planning promotion for garden plots in Merton

If you’d rather find out what the market pays for your Merton 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
London Borough of Merton
Postcodes
CR4, SM4, SW19, SW20
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.3 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Greater London

How it plays out in Merton

Shadow and distance are often why a combined site in Merton works better than a single garden. With the sun at about 39° at noon in late March, the shadow from a 5 m eaves line reaches roughly 6.3 m, so a home squeezed into one narrow garden can end up too close to the houses it backs onto.

Joining gardens with neighbours lets new homes sit towards the middle of a wider site, away from existing windows, with one shared access. Promotion suits that kind of scheme, because planning costs are spread across more land and the site is sold as one well-planned whole. The London Borough of Merton still makes the decision.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Merton: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.3 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 18.5 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Merton: around 39° of sun at midday in late March and about 15° at midwinter. It shows why the gap between your house and a new home behind it is about light as well as privacy. Garden assumed to face north.

How we’d take it forward in Merton

Nothing is signed until you’ve seen the heads of terms and taken advice. Call us or use the form with your Merton 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.

  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. 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.

  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

  • The plot’s price isn’t known until it’s marketed with permission; it depends on location, size, access and the permission itself.
  • Promotion takes longer than a straight sale: planning, then marketing, then completion, and each stage can run on.
  • On a single small plot, fixed costs and our fee take a bigger share of the sale price than on a larger site.

Your questions, answered for Merton

Do I pay anything upfront for planning promotion in Merton?

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 Merton 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.

Is planning promotion available for a single garden in Merton?

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.

Can you look at my garden in Merton 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.

Other options in Merton

Planning promotion near Merton

Find out what your garden could become

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

Get my free appraisal 0800 088 6248