- Planning authority
- Erewash Borough Council
- Postcodes
- DE7
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 37°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.6 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Derbyshire
Ilkeston: light, access and policy
Light is often the deciding issue on a garden plot. At midday on 21 March the sun in Ilkeston stands about 37° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line casts a shadow of roughly 6.6 m across the ground behind it. By late December, with the sun only around 14° up, those shadows stretch much further.
That’s why the gap between your house and any new home matters so much to Erewash Borough 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.
How we’d take it forward in Ilkeston
From first call to written offer usually takes a few weeks, depending mainly on how quickly the title checks and site visit can be arranged. After that, the legal work for a plot sale in Ilkeston often runs for a few months, driven by the lender’s consent and any covenant or access questions. The appraisal costs you nothing, and you can stop at any point before exchange.
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.
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 new home will be built close to yours, with building work and deliveries for a period.
- A sale without planning is priced for the planning risk we take on, so it usually pays less than the same plot with permission.
- Your house keeps a smaller garden, which some future buyers will welcome and others won’t.
Ilkeston: questions to ask
Can I sell the plot and keep living in my Ilkeston 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.
Do I pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) when I sell a garden plot in Ilkeston?
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 Ilkeston 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.
Who decides whether a new home can be built in a Ilkeston garden?
Erewash Borough 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.
Other options in Ilkeston
- Garage courts and yards
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Garden plot option agreement
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Build a home for family in your garden

