- Planning authority
- Bristol City Council
- Postcodes
- BS14
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.3 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Bristol
Before you decide in Stockwood
Light is often the deciding issue on a garden plot. At midday on 21 March the sun in Stockwood stands about 39° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line casts a shadow of roughly 6.3 m across the ground behind it. By late December, with the sun only around 15° up, those shadows stretch much further.
That’s why the gap between your house and any new home matters so much to Bristol City Council, and why a single-storey or dormer design sometimes succeeds where a full two storeys wouldn’t. We test the shadows before we offer, because they affect what the plot can hold.
The next steps, locally
Next steps in Stockwood are simple. Send us your address and a rough idea of the part of the garden you’d consider selling. We check the title and the planning position from our desk, call you to talk it through, and arrange a visit if the plot looks viable. If it is, a written offer follows, subject to survey, title and contract.
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.
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.
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
- Lender consent, old covenants or access disputes can slow a sale, and occasionally stop it.
- Your house keeps a smaller garden, which some future buyers will welcome and others won’t.
- A new home will be built close to yours, with building work and deliveries for a period.
Stockwood: questions to ask
What if my Stockwood garden has a protected tree?
A tree covered by a Tree Preservation Order, or standing in a conservation area, needs consent or notice before work. That doesn’t automatically stop a sale. Often the new home is placed to avoid the roots and canopy, and Bristol City Council’s tree officer may comment on any application. We check for protected trees during the appraisal.
Can I sell part of my garden in Stockwood 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 Bristol City 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 I pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) when I sell a garden plot in Stockwood?
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.
How long does selling a garden plot in Stockwood 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 Stockwood
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Build a new home in your garden
- Garden plot option agreement
- Large rear gardens

