Backland Development
0800 088 6248Free to call Free plot appraisal

Planning promotion for garden plots in Southwark

We’re a new brand within the S&K Group, and planning promotion is one of several routes we offer garden owners in Southwark and across Greater London. It suits owners who want the plot sold with permission, can wait for planning and a sale, and would rather not fund the application themselves.

You keep your house throughout. We prepare and submit the application to the London Borough of Southwark, and after permission the plot is marketed through an agreed agent. When the sale completes, sale costs, our planning costs within the agreed limit and our fee are deducted, and the rest is yours. We also pay your solicitor’s reasonable charges for the agreement, within a limit written into the heads of terms.

Get a free appraisalCheck my garden
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 Southwark
Postcodes
SE5, SE15, SE16, SE17, SE22
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 Southwark

Every application the London Borough of Southwark decides goes on its public planning register, and a refusal stays there. That record doesn’t stop a later application, but the next scheme has to answer the reasons given. It is one reason we prepare a garden plot in Southwark carefully before submitting: measured survey, access check, separation distances, trees and drainage.

We also check the planning history of your house and the gardens near it, and what the council’s Local Plan says about garden land. Past decisions on nearby plots are often the best guide to what the council will accept.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Southwark: 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 Southwark: 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.

The next steps, locally

The first step for a Southwark garden is a conversation and a desktop check, at no cost. We then send written heads of terms covering the term, minimum price, cost cap and fee. Once the agreement is signed, we commission surveys and drawings, take pre-application advice from the London Borough of Southwark where it helps, and submit the application. Marketing starts only after permission is granted.

  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. 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.

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.
  • You’ll live next to whatever is built, so the layout, windows and new boundary affect your house too.
  • Planning may be refused. You keep your land and owe nothing for planning, but the months spent can’t be given back.

Southwark: questions to ask

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

It usually takes longer than a straight sale. Design and surveys often take a few months, then the London Borough of Southwark 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.

Does a mortgage on my Southwark 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.

Can you look at my garden in Southwark 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.

Is planning promotion available for a single garden in Southwark?

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.

Other options in Southwark

Planning promotion near Southwark

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