- Planning authority
- Trafford Council
- Postcodes
- M31, M41
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 37°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.7 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Greater Manchester
Urmston: light, access and policy
Light is often the deciding issue on a garden plot. At midday on 21 March the sun in Urmston 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 Trafford 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.
What happens next in Urmston
Here is what happens if you contact us about a garden in Urmston. 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
- Lender consent, old covenants or access disputes can slow a sale, and occasionally stop it.
- 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.
Questions about garden plots in Urmston
How much is a garden plot in Urmston worth?
It depends on location, size, access and planning, so there’s no honest figure without looking at the plot itself. A garden with good access and room for a well-spaced home is a stronger plot than one with a narrow, shared or doubtful route in. Our free appraisal is the way to find out, and any offer comes in writing.
What if my Urmston 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 Trafford Council’s tree officer may comment on any application. We check for protected trees during the appraisal.
Who decides whether a new home can be built in a Urmston garden?
Trafford 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.
Can I sell part of my garden in Urmston 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 Trafford 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 Urmston
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Garage courts and yards
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Sell subject to planning
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Large rear gardens

