Backland Development
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Planning promotion for garden plots in Caterham

Planning promotion isn’t the right answer for every garden in Caterham, and we’d rather say so at the outset than after months of work. It is more usual on larger sites, because part of the cost of surveys, legal work and marketing is fixed whether the plot takes one home or several.

Where it fits, the deal is simple to describe. We fund the application, the plot is sold with permission, and we’re paid from the sale, after recovering what we spent on planning up to the agreed limit. You pay nothing at the start. Where it doesn’t fit, we’ll explain the other routes, from an outright sale to a joint venture, and leave the choice with you.

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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
Tandridge District Council
Postcodes
CR3
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.2 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Surrey

Caterham: light, access and policy

Before we suggest promotion on a garden in Caterham, we read the council’s Local Plan and any design guidance Tandridge District Council publishes on garden land. Those documents shape what is realistic: how close a new home can sit to existing windows, how much garden each house keeps, how wide a shared drive needs to be, and how parking and bins are handled.

If the policies point against a plot, it’s better to know at the appraisal than after a refused application. If they support it, the application is written to answer them directly, which gives the council fewer reasons to say no.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Caterham: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.2 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 18.3 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Caterham on 21 March sits about 39° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.2 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.

The next steps, locally

From first call to completion, a promotion in Caterham 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. 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.

  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

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

Caterham: questions to ask

Can neighbours in Caterham 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.

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

It usually takes longer than a straight sale. Design and surveys often take a few months, then Tandridge District 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.

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

Tandridge District 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.

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

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 Caterham

Planning promotion near Caterham

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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