- Planning authority
- North Hertfordshire District Council
- Postcodes
- SG6
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.4 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Hertfordshire
How it plays out in Letchworth Garden City
At noon on 21 March the sun over Letchworth Garden City sits about 38° above the horizon, so a two-storey eaves line around 5 m high casts a shadow of roughly 6.4 m. By 21 December, with the sun at about 15°, that shadow is far longer. North Hertfordshire 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.
What happens next in Letchworth Garden City
Here’s what happens after you contact us about a garden in Letchworth Garden City. 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.
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.
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
- You’ll live next to whatever is built, so the layout, windows and new boundary affect your house too.
- You can’t sell the plot to anyone else while the agreement runs, so the term length matters.
- On a single small plot, fixed costs and our fee take a bigger share of the sale price than on a larger site.
Letchworth Garden City: questions to ask
Can you look at my garden in Letchworth Garden City 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.
Can neighbours in Letchworth Garden City 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 Letchworth Garden City?
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.
What happens if planning is refused for my garden in Letchworth Garden City?
You keep your land and owe nothing for planning, because our costs are only recovered from a sale with planning. Within the term we may revise the scheme and reapply, or appeal if the grounds are strong. If there’s no realistic route to permission, the agreement ends.
Other options in Letchworth Garden City
- Garage courts and yards
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Sell part of your garden
- Build a new home in your garden
- Bungalows on large plots