Planning promotion for garden plots in Maghull

Getting a garden plot through planning costs money before anyone knows the answer: a measured survey, drawings, often a tree or ecology report, sometimes a transport or drainage note, and the application fee itself. Under a planning promotion in Maghull, we fund all of that upfront.

Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council then decides the application. If permission is granted, the plot is marketed and sold, and our planning costs, within the cap agreed in the heads of terms, are recovered from the sale along with our fee. If it’s refused and no sale with planning happens, those costs stay with us and you keep your 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
Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council
Postcodes
L29, L31
Noon sun, 21 March
About 36°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.8 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Merseyside

What the council will look at in Maghull

At noon on 21 March the sun over Maghull sits about 36° above the horizon, so a two-storey eaves line around 5 m high casts a shadow of roughly 6.8 m. By 21 December, with the sun at about 13°, that shadow is far longer. Sefton Metropolitan 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.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Maghull: about 36 degrees on 21 March and 13 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 36°, shadow 6.8 m21 Dec, noon: sun 13°, shadow 21.6 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Maghull: around 36° of sun at midday in late March and about 13° 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.

What happens next in Maghull

The first step for a Maghull 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 Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council 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

  • 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.
  • Promotion takes longer than a straight sale: planning, then marketing, then completion, and each stage can run on.

Maghull: questions to ask

Can you look at my garden in Maghull 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 Maghull 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.

Do I pay anything upfront for planning promotion in Maghull?

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.

What happens if planning is refused for my garden in Maghull?

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 Maghull

Planning promotion near Maghull

Find out what your garden could become

Free garden plot appraisal. No cost, no obligation, and a straight answer if it won’t work.