Backland Development
0800 088 6248Free to call Free plot appraisal

Sell part of your garden in St Ives

We’re Backland Development, a new brand within the S&K Group, and we’re looking to buy garden plots from homeowners in St Ives and across Cambridgeshire. The idea is simple: you keep your home and sell us the part of the garden that could hold another one. We take on the planning risk, the design and the build; your side is mostly a conversation and a solicitor.

Whether you have permission already or not, we’ll make a written offer if the plot works and explain how we arrived at it. Location, size, access and planning all affect the figure, which is why we don’t guess at prices before seeing the title and the site.

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Long back garden with a string line and marker pegs across the lawn showing where a plot could be split off
Planning authority
Huntingdonshire District Council
Postcodes
PE27
Noon sun, 21 March
About 38°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.5 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Cambridgeshire

What the council will look at in St Ives

When a desk check looks promising, we visit. On gardens in PE27 we walk the boundary, measure the distance from your back wall to where a new home could sit, note the trees and their spread, check the levels and look at which neighbouring windows face the plot. We also stand at the end of the drive to see how far a driver could see in each direction.

Those measurements, set against what Huntingdonshire District Council expects, turn a rough idea into a plot with a shape and a price. The visit is part of the free appraisal, and you’re welcome to walk round with us.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in St Ives: about 38 degrees on 21 March and 14 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 38°, shadow 6.5 m21 Dec, noon: sun 14°, shadow 19.7 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of St Ives: around 38° of sun at midday in late March and about 14° at midwinter. It shows why the gap between your house and a new home behind it is about light as well as privacy. Garden assumed to face north.

From first call to decision

Here is what happens if you contact us about a garden in St Ives. 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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. After the sale

    Any boundary fence or access works agreed in the transfer are carried out as set out. If the plot still needs planning, we apply as the new owner, and you can see and comment on the plans like any other neighbour.

Worth checking early

  • A sale without planning is priced for the planning risk we take on, so it usually pays less than the same plot with permission.
  • A new home will be built close to yours, with building work and deliveries for a period.
  • Selling the plot after you have sold or moved out of the house can change the tax position; take advice from a tax adviser.

St Ives: questions to ask

Do I pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) when I sell a garden plot in St Ives?

No. Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) falls on the buyer of land, so on a sale to us any amount due is ours to pay. What may affect you as the seller is Capital Gains Tax, depending on your circumstances and whether you still live in the house. Take advice from a tax adviser before you agree a deal.

Who decides whether a new home can be built in a St Ives garden?

Huntingdonshire District Council decides, as the local planning authority, using the council’s Local Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Neighbours and consultees can comment, and the council weighs their points against planning policy. Nobody, including us, can promise the outcome, which is why an outright sale without planning is priced for that uncertainty.

How much is a garden plot in St Ives worth?

It depends on location, size, access and planning, so there’s no honest figure without looking at the plot itself. A garden with good access and room for a well-spaced home is a stronger plot than one with a narrow, shared or doubtful route in. Our free appraisal is the way to find out, and any offer comes in writing.

Can I sell part of my garden in St Ives 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 Huntingdonshire District 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.

Other options in St Ives

Sell your garden plot near St Ives

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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