Backland Development
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Planning promotion for garden plots in Oxford

We’re a new brand within the S&K Group, and planning promotion is one of several routes we offer garden owners in Oxford and across Oxfordshire. It suits owners who want the plot sold with permission, can wait for planning and a sale, and would rather not fund the application themselves.

You keep your house throughout. We prepare and submit the application to Oxford City Council, and after permission the plot is marketed through an agreed agent. When the sale completes, sale costs, our planning costs within the agreed limit and our fee are deducted, and the rest is yours. We also pay your solicitor’s reasonable charges for the agreement, within a limit written into the heads of terms.

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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
Oxford City Council
Postcodes
OX1, OX3, OX4
Noon sun, 21 March
About 38°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.3 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Oxfordshire

What the council will look at in Oxford

On many backland plots, access matters more than size. A long garden in Oxford may have no route to the road wide enough for cars, bins and emergency vehicles, and Oxford City Council will look closely at the effect of a new drive on the homes either side of it.

For homes in OX1, OX3 and OX4 we look at access first: the width beside the house, visibility at the pavement, and whether a strip of land owned by someone else sits in the way. If access only works by joining with a neighbour, we’ll say so, and promoting the combined site may be the better route.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Oxford: about 38 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 38°, shadow 6.3 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 18.9 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Oxford on 21 March sits about 38° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.3 m. In December the sun is only about 15° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

How we’d take it forward in Oxford

Here’s what happens after you contact us about a garden in Oxford. We start with a free desktop appraisal of your title plan, access and the policies in the council’s Local Plan, then talk it through with you. If it looks viable, we visit. If promotion fits, we send heads of terms, and your solicitor reviews them, with reasonable legal fees covered up to an agreed cap, before anything is signed.

  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. 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.
  • Planning may be refused. You keep your land and owe nothing for planning, but the months spent can’t be given back.
  • You can’t sell the plot to anyone else while the agreement runs, so the term length matters.

Your questions, answered for Oxford

Can you look at my garden in Oxford 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.

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

It usually takes longer than a straight sale. Design and surveys often take a few months, then Oxford City 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 Oxford?

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.

Is planning promotion available for a single garden in Oxford?

Yes, if the plot is suitable, though promotion is more usual on larger sites. On one modest garden, the fixed costs of planning, legal work and marketing take a bigger share of the sale. After the free appraisal we’ll tell you whether promotion, a sale subject to planning or an option suits your garden best.

Other options in Oxford

Planning promotion near Oxford

Find out what your garden could become

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

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