- Planning authority
- London Borough of Sutton
- Postcodes
- SM1, SM2, SM3, SM5, SM6
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.3 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Greater London
Sutton: light, access and policy
On many garden plots, access matters more than size. If a new home behind yours would be reached along a strip beside the house, the London Borough of Sutton will look at how wide it is, how far drivers can see where it meets the road, and how much noise and headlight glare from passing cars would reach you and the neighbours.
Building regulations add their own test, because 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). Whether your garden is in SM1, SM2, SM3 and SM5 or just beyond, we measure the access early, since it shapes the offer more than almost anything else.
How we’d take it forward in Sutton
Here is what happens if you contact us about a garden in Sutton. 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.
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.
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
- 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.
- Selling the plot after you have sold or moved out of the house can change the tax position; take advice from a tax adviser.
Sutton: questions to ask
Will I need my own solicitor for a garden plot sale in Sutton?
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.
Can I sell the plot and keep living in my Sutton 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.
How long does selling a garden plot in Sutton 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.
Do you buy garden plots in Banstead, Ewell and Merton as well as Sutton?
Yes. We cover England and Wales, including the places around Sutton. 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 Sutton
- Sell subject to planning
- Plot feasibility and design
- Large rear gardens
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Build a home for family in your garden

