Backland Development
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Planning promotion for garden plots in Freshwater

Planning promotion isn’t the right answer for every garden in Freshwater, and we’d rather say so at the outset than after months of work. It is more usual on larger sites, because part of the cost of surveys, legal work and marketing is fixed whether the plot takes one home or several.

Where it fits, the deal is simple to describe. We fund the application, the plot is sold with permission, and we’re paid from the sale, after recovering what we spent on planning up to the agreed limit. You pay nothing at the start. Where it doesn’t fit, we’ll explain the other routes, from an outright sale to a joint venture, and leave the choice with you.

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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
Isle of Wight Council
Postcodes
PO39, PO40
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.1 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Isle of Wight

The local picture in Freshwater

Shadow and distance are often why a combined site in Freshwater 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 6.1 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. Isle of Wight Council still makes the decision.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Freshwater: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 16 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.1 m21 Dec, noon: sun 16°, shadow 17.6 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Freshwater: around 39° of sun at midday in late March and about 16° 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.

From first call to decision

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

  4. 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.

Worth checking early

  • 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.
  • The plot’s price isn’t known until it’s marketed with permission; it depends on location, size, access and the permission itself.

Your questions, answered for Freshwater

Who decides a planning application for a garden plot in Freshwater?

Isle of Wight Council 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.

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

It usually takes longer than a straight sale. Design and surveys often take a few months, then Isle of Wight Council 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.

Can you look at my garden in Freshwater 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 Freshwater 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 Freshwater

Planning promotion near Freshwater

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