- Planning authority
- West Lancashire Borough Council
- Postcodes
- WN8
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 36°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.8 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Lancashire
Before you decide in Skelmersdale
For homes in WN8, a garden plot with planning permission doesn’t have to sell to a buyer from the same street. A promoted plot can be offered to builders and self-builders from Skelmersdale or nearby places such as Ormskirk, Wigan and Kirkby, and from further afield, through an agent agreed with you. The aim is enough interest to test the price properly, rather than one quiet offer.
You see every offer, approve the buyer and keep the protection of a minimum price. If we want to bid ourselves, the price has to stand up against the open market, for example through an independent valuation.
What happens next in Skelmersdale
The first step for a Skelmersdale 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 West Lancashire Borough Council where it helps, and submit the application. Marketing starts only after permission is granted.
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.
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.
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 can’t sell the plot to anyone else while the agreement runs, so the term length matters.
- Planning may be refused. You keep your land and owe nothing for planning, but the months spent can’t be given back.
Your questions, answered for Skelmersdale
How long does planning promotion take for a garden in Skelmersdale?
It usually takes longer than a straight sale. Design and surveys often take a few months, then West Lancashire Borough 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.
Do I pay anything upfront for planning promotion in Skelmersdale?
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 Skelmersdale 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.
How is a promoted garden plot in Skelmersdale sold?
After permission, an agent agreed with you markets the plot to builders, developers and self-builders. You see the offers and approve the buyer. The plot can’t be sold below the agreed minimum price without your written consent, and any offer from us has to stand up against the open market.
Other options in Skelmersdale
- Sell part of your garden
- Bungalows on large plots
- Plot feasibility and design
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Sell subject to planning
- Corner and side plots