Backland Development
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Sell part of your garden in Seaham

Turning part of a Seaham garden into money doesn’t have to mean selling up. A plot sale transfers only the land you choose, leaves your house on its existing title with a new boundary, and gives the plot a title of its own at HM Land Registry. If the house is mortgaged, your lender signs off the release.

From there, any planning application is ours to make, and the risk of refusal is ours to carry. You’d see the plans like any neighbour and could comment on them. If you’d prefer to sell only once permission is granted, our sale subject to planning works that way instead.

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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
Durham County Council
Postcodes
SR7
Noon sun, 21 March
About 35°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 7.1 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
County Durham

Seaham: light, access and policy

Light is often the deciding issue on a garden plot. At midday on 21 March the sun in Seaham stands about 35° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line casts a shadow of roughly 7.1 m across the ground behind it. By late December, with the sun only around 12° up, those shadows stretch much further.

That’s why the gap between your house and any new home matters so much to Durham County 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.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Seaham: about 35 degrees on 21 March and 12 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 35°, shadow 7.1 m21 Dec, noon: sun 12°, shadow 24.1 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Seaham: around 35° of sun at midday in late March and about 12° 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.

How we’d take it forward in Seaham

Once you get in touch, we look up your title at HM Land Registry and check what the council’s Local Plan says about homes in gardens. Then we talk, with no obligation on your side. If the plot works, we visit, agree the boundary with you on a plan and put our offer in writing. Your solicitor and ours take it from there, and the pace suits you.

  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. 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

  • 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.

Questions about garden plots in Seaham

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

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.

Do you buy garden plots in Houghton-le-Spring, Sunderland and Peterlee as well as Seaham?

Yes. We cover England and Wales, including the places around Seaham. 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 Seaham 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.

Can I sell part of my garden in Seaham 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 Durham County 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 Seaham

Sell your garden plot near Seaham

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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