Planning promotion for garden plots in Worthing

If you’d rather find out what the market pays for your Worthing garden plot once it has planning than accept a fixed figure today, planning promotion is built for that. We pay to seek permission, an agreed agent markets the plot if it is granted, and you approve the buyer and the terms.

A minimum price agreed at the start means the plot can’t be sold below it without your written consent. Sale costs, our capped planning costs and our fee are deducted on completion, and the balance goes to you through your solicitor. Value depends on the plot’s location, size, access and permission, so we won’t guess a figure before the appraisal.

White architectural model of a house at the front of a plot with two new homes at the end of the garden
Planning authority
Worthing Borough Council
Postcodes
BN11, BN12, BN13, BN14
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.1 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
West Sussex

Worthing: light, access and policy

Shadow and distance are often why a combined site in Worthing works better than a single garden. With the sun at about 39° at noon in late March, the shadow from a 5 m eaves line reaches roughly 6.1 m, so a home squeezed into one narrow garden can end up too close to the houses it backs onto.

Joining gardens with neighbours lets new homes sit towards the middle of a wider site, away from existing windows, with one shared access. Promotion suits that kind of scheme, because planning costs are spread across more land and the site is sold as one well-planned whole. Worthing Borough Council still makes the decision.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Worthing: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 16 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.1 m21 Dec, noon: sun 16°, shadow 17.7 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Worthing on 21 March sits about 39° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.1 m. In December the sun is only about 16° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

What happens next in Worthing

The first step for a Worthing 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 Worthing Borough Council where it helps, and submit the application. Marketing starts only after permission is granted.

  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

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

Worthing: questions to ask

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

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.

Does a mortgage on my Worthing 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.

Can you look at my garden in Worthing 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 Worthing?

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

Planning promotion near Worthing

Find out what your garden could become

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