Planning promotion for garden plots in Epsom

Two or three neighbouring back gardens in Epsom can make a stronger promotion site than one garden on its own. Put together, they may allow one shared access, a better layout and new homes set further from existing windows, and the fixed costs of the application are spread across a bigger scheme.

That is where promotion is most at home. For a single garden it can still work, particularly if the plot is generous and has its own route in from the road, but we’ll tell you honestly if a sale subject to planning or an option suits your land better. The free appraisal covers that question.

White architectural model of a house at the front of a plot with two new homes at the end of the garden
Planning authority
Epsom and Ewell Borough Council
Postcodes
KT17, KT19
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.2 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Surrey

What the council will look at in Epsom

For homes in KT17 and KT19, a garden plot with planning permission doesn’t have to sell to a buyer from the same street. A promoted plot can be offered to builders and self-builders from Epsom or nearby places such as Ewell, Banstead and Leatherhead, and from further afield, through an agent agreed with you. The aim is enough interest to test the price properly, rather than one quiet offer.

You see every offer, approve the buyer and keep the protection of a minimum price. If we want to bid ourselves, the price has to stand up against the open market, for example through an independent valuation.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Epsom: 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 18.4 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Epsom 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.

How we’d take it forward in Epsom

From first call to completion, a promotion in Epsom 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. 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.
  • 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.

Questions about garden plots in Epsom

Do I pay anything upfront for planning promotion in Epsom?

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.

Does a mortgage on my Epsom 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 Epsom 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.

Can neighbours in Epsom 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.

Other options in Epsom

Planning promotion near Epsom

Find out what your garden could become

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