- Planning authority
- Birmingham City Council
- Postcodes
- B72, B73, B74, B75
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 37°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.5 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- West Midlands
How it plays out in Sutton Coldfield
At noon on 21 March the sun over Sutton Coldfield sits about 37° above the horizon, so a two-storey eaves line around 5 m high casts a shadow of roughly 6.5 m. By 21 December, with the sun at about 14°, that shadow is far longer. Birmingham City 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.
From first call to decision
The first step for a Sutton Coldfield garden is a conversation and a desktop check, at no cost. We then send written heads of terms covering the term, minimum price, cost cap and fee. Once the agreement is signed, we commission surveys and drawings, take pre-application advice from Birmingham City Council where it helps, and submit the application. Marketing starts only after permission is granted.
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
- 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.
- 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 Sutton Coldfield
Who decides a planning application for a garden plot in Sutton Coldfield?
Birmingham City 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 Sutton Coldfield 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 Sutton Coldfield 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.
Do I pay anything upfront for planning promotion in Sutton Coldfield?
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.
Other options in Sutton Coldfield
- Garden plot option agreement
- Build a new home in your garden
- Bungalows on large plots
- Garage courts and yards
- Large rear gardens
- Sell subject to planning