- Planning authority
- Somerset Council
- Postcodes
- BA20, BA21, BA22
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.2 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Somerset
What the council will look at in Yeovil
At noon on 21 March the sun over Yeovil sits about 39° above the horizon, so a two-storey eaves line around 5 m high casts a shadow of roughly 6.2 m. By 21 December, with the sun at about 16°, that shadow is far longer. Somerset 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.
The next steps, locally
From first call to completion, a promotion in Yeovil 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.
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.
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.
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.
Worth checking early
- You’ll live next to whatever is built, so the layout, windows and new boundary affect your house too.
- You can’t sell the plot to anyone else while the agreement runs, so the term length matters.
- The plot’s price isn’t known until it’s marketed with permission; it depends on location, size, access and the permission itself.
Questions about garden plots in Yeovil
Can neighbours in Yeovil 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.
Who decides a planning application for a garden plot in Yeovil?
Somerset 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.
Does a mortgage on my Yeovil 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 long does planning promotion take for a garden in Yeovil?
It usually takes longer than a straight sale. Design and surveys often take a few months, then Somerset 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.
Other options in Yeovil
- Build a new home in your garden
- Garden plot option agreement
- Corner and side plots
- Sell part of your garden
- Bungalows on large plots
- Combine gardens with your neighbours