- Nation
- England
- National planning policy
- NPPF
- Planning authorities
- 5
- City
- York
What to know in North Yorkshire
The garden plots that suit promotion best in North Yorkshire are often not single gardens but two or three adjoining ones put together. A combined site can carry one well-designed shared access instead of a narrow drive squeezed past a house, and the larger scheme spreads the fixed costs of surveys, drawings, legal work and marketing. If you and your neighbours are thinking along those lines, we can appraise the land as one site and explain how proceeds could be shared fairly before anyone commits.
Planning authorities covering North Yorkshire include City of York Council, Middlesbrough Council, North Yorkshire Council, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council.
How it works
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.
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.
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.
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.
Planning promotion in towns across North Yorkshire
- York
- Middlesbrough
- Harrogate
- Scarborough
- Redcar
- Selby
- Thornaby-on-Tees
- Ingleby Barwick
- Yarm
- Guisborough
- Northallerton
- Ripon
- Knaresborough
- Skipton
- Whitby
Questions about planning promotion in North Yorkshire
Is planning promotion usual for small garden plots in North Yorkshire?
Not especially. Promotion is more common on larger sites, because fixed costs are spread over more homes. It can still work for a generous single garden or, more often, for neighbours combining gardens. For a smaller plot we may suggest a sale subject to planning or an option instead.
How long does a planning promotion usually take in North Yorkshire?
Longer than selling the land as it stands. Surveys and design often take a few months, the council then needs time to decide, and marketing and conveyancing follow. Council workload, requests for extra reports and any appeal drive the timing, so we give a realistic range after the appraisal rather than a promise.
Which councils decide garden plot applications in North Yorkshire?
Applications are decided by the local planning authority for the address, and those serving North Yorkshire include City of York Council, Middlesbrough Council, North Yorkshire Council, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. Each applies the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) alongside its own Local Plan and design guidance, and makes its own decision. We check the policies of the council where your land sits during the free appraisal.
Do I need my own solicitor to sell a plot in North Yorkshire?
Yes, always. Your solicitor checks the contract, deals with the transfer of part at HM Land Registry and asks your mortgage lender to release the plot if the house is mortgaged. On option and promotion agreements we cover your reasonable legal fees, with the cap agreed in heads of terms before work starts.