- Planning authority
- Central Bedfordshire Council
- Postcodes
- SG18
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.4 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Bedfordshire
Biggleswade: light, access and policy
On many garden plots, access matters more than size. If a new home behind yours would be reached along a strip beside the house, Central Bedfordshire Council will look at how wide it is, how far drivers can see where it meets the road, and how much noise and headlight glare from passing cars would reach you and the neighbours.
Building regulations add their own test, because the new home will need fire engine access (or other measures, often sprinklers, agreed with building control and the fire service where a fire engine can’t get close enough). Whether your garden is in SG18 or just beyond, we measure the access early, since it shapes the offer more than almost anything else.
How we’d take it forward in Biggleswade
Here is what happens if you contact us about a garden in Biggleswade. We ask a few questions about the house, the garden and any mortgage. We run the desk checks and call back with a view, good or bad. If it’s good, we visit and make a written offer to buy the plot outright. If you accept, heads of terms set out the price, the boundary and who pays what before solicitors start.
Free plot appraisal
Tell us about your garden. We check the title plan, access, local policy and planning history from our desk, then talk it through with you. If it looks viable, we arrange a site visit, with no cost and no obligation.
Written offer and heads of terms
We put our offer in writing, subject to survey, title and contract. Heads of terms then record the plot boundary, the price, access rights, who pays which costs and the rough timetable for each stage.
Solicitors and lender
Your solicitor prepares the transfer of part and asks your mortgage lender to release the plot. Ours checks the title, covenants, rights of way and searches, while surveys of trees, ground and drainage run alongside.
Exchange and completion
Once both sides are satisfied, contracts are exchanged and a completion date is fixed. On completion the money passes through the solicitors and HM Land Registry registers the plot under a new title of its own.
Worth checking early
- A new home will be built close to yours, with building work and deliveries for a period.
- Lender consent, old covenants or access disputes can slow a sale, and occasionally stop it.
- A sale without planning is priced for the planning risk we take on, so it usually pays less than the same plot with permission.
Biggleswade: questions to ask
Can I sell part of my garden in Biggleswade without planning permission?
Yes. We buy suitable plots with or without planning, subject to survey, title and contract. Without permission, we take on the risk that Central Bedfordshire Council refuses an application, and our offer allows for that. If you’d rather sell only once permission is granted, a sale subject to planning is the alternative.
Do you buy garden plots in Sandy, Letchworth Garden City and St Neots as well as Biggleswade?
Yes. We cover England and Wales, including the places around Biggleswade. The process is the same wherever your garden is, although planning policies depend on the council for your address, so our desk check always starts by finding out which one that is.
Can I sell the plot and keep living in my Biggleswade house?
Yes, that’s the whole point of a plot sale. You keep the house and the rest of the garden, and the boundary is drawn where you agree. The transfer can include rights and covenants that protect your home, such as who builds the new fence and limits on windows facing your property.
How long does selling a garden plot in Biggleswade take?
The legal work usually runs for a few months, much like an ordinary house sale. What drives it is the lender’s consent to release the plot, any covenant or access issue on the title, and how quickly both solicitors work. Selling without planning means there’s no council stage to wait for before completion.
Other options in Biggleswade
- Sell subject to planning
- Plot feasibility and design
- Large rear gardens
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Joint venture on your garden plot