Backland Development
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Sell part of your garden in Matlock

Some gardens in Matlock are long enough to hold a second home behind the first, and some side gardens are wide enough to hold one beside it. Either can be sold on its own while you stay put. The sale doesn’t need planning permission in place, and you don’t need to clear, fence or build anything first.

What it does need is a clear route in. A shared or new drive has to work for cars, deliveries and bin collections, and 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). If the only way in crosses land you don’t own, a ransom strip can change the deal entirely, so we check who owns the access before anything else.

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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
Derbyshire Dales District Council
Postcodes
DE4
Noon sun, 21 March
About 37°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.7 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Derbyshire

Matlock: light, access and policy

Light is often the deciding issue on a garden plot. At midday on 21 March the sun in Matlock stands about 37° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line casts a shadow of roughly 6.7 m across the ground behind it. By late December, with the sun only around 13° up, those shadows stretch much further.

That’s why the gap between your house and any new home matters so much to Derbyshire Dales District 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 Matlock: about 37 degrees on 21 March and 13 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 37°, shadow 6.7 m21 Dec, noon: sun 13°, shadow 21.0 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Matlock: around 37° of sun at midday in late March and about 13° 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.

What happens next in Matlock

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. 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.

  3. 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.

  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

  • Your house keeps a smaller garden, which some future buyers will welcome and others won’t.
  • Selling the plot after you have sold or moved out of the house can change the tax position; take advice from a tax adviser.
  • A sale without planning is priced for the planning risk we take on, so it usually pays less than the same plot with permission.

Matlock: questions to ask

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

Derbyshire Dales 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.

What if my Matlock 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 Derbyshire Dales District Council’s tree officer may comment on any application. We check for protected trees during the appraisal.

Will I need my own solicitor for a garden plot sale in Matlock?

Yes. You need a solicitor or licensed conveyancer acting for you on the transfer of part, separate from ours. Choose one who handles property sales and, ideally, development land. Who pays their fees is agreed in heads of terms before you instruct them.

Do you buy garden plots in Alfreton, Belper and Chesterfield as well as Matlock?

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

Other options in Matlock

Sell your garden plot near Matlock

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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