Planning promotion for garden plots in Hexham

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 Hexham, we fund all of that upfront.

Northumberland County 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
Northumberland County Council
Postcodes
NE46
Noon sun, 21 March
About 35°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 7.1 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Northumberland

How it plays out in Hexham

At noon on 21 March the sun over Hexham sits about 35° above the horizon, so a two-storey eaves line around 5 m high casts a shadow of roughly 7.1 m. By 21 December, with the sun at about 12°, that shadow is far longer. Northumberland County 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 Hexham: about 35 degrees on 21 March and 12 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 35°, shadow 7.1 m21 Dec, noon: sun 12°, shadow 24.4 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Hexham: around 35° of sun at midday in late March and about 12° 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

From first call to completion, a promotion in Hexham runs in clear stages: free appraisal, heads of terms, agreement, planning application, marketing and sale. You decide at the points that matter most, signing the agreement, setting the minimum price and approving the buyer. Timing depends on the council’s workload, any extra reports it asks for and the buyer’s solicitors, so we give a realistic range rather than a promise.

  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. 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

  • On a single small plot, fixed costs and our fee take a bigger share of the sale price than on a larger site.
  • 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.

Hexham: questions to ask

Does a mortgage on my Hexham 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.

How is a promoted garden plot in Hexham 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.

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

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.

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

Northumberland County 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.

Other options in Hexham

Planning promotion near Hexham

Find out what your garden could become

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