- Planning authority
- Torfaen County Borough Council
- Postcodes
- NP44
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.3 m
- Planning plan
- LDP
- County
- Gwent
The local picture in Cwmbran
At noon on 21 March the sun over Cwmbran sits about 38° above the horizon, so a two-storey eaves line around 5 m high casts a shadow of roughly 6.3 m. By 21 December, with the sun at about 15°, that shadow is far longer. Torfaen County Borough 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
From first call to completion, a promotion in Cwmbran 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.
Free plot appraisal
We check your title plan, access, the surrounding gardens and the policies in the council’s Local Development Plan (LDP) as a desktop exercise, then talk it through with you. If it looks viable, we visit. No cost and no obligation.
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.
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.
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 can’t sell the plot to anyone else while the agreement runs, so the term length matters.
- You’ll live next to whatever is built, so the layout, windows and new boundary affect your house too.
Cwmbran: questions to ask
Can neighbours in Cwmbran 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.
Who decides a planning application for a garden plot in Cwmbran?
Torfaen County Borough Council decides it, using the council’s Local Development Plan (LDP) and national policy in PPW. 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.
Does a mortgage on my Cwmbran 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 Cwmbran 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 Cwmbran
- Garden plot option agreement
- Sell subject to planning
- Sell part of your garden
- Bungalows on large plots
- Build a new home in your garden
- Combine gardens with your neighbours