- Planning authority
- Havant Borough Council
- Postcodes
- PO10
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.1 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Hampshire
How it plays out in Emsworth
Light is often the deciding issue on a garden plot. At midday on 21 March the sun in Emsworth stands about 39° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line casts a shadow of roughly 6.1 m across the ground behind it. By late December, with the sun only around 16° up, those shadows stretch much further.
That’s why the gap between your house and any new home matters so much to Havant 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.
The next steps, locally
Next steps in Emsworth are simple. Send us your address and a rough idea of the part of the garden you’d consider selling. We check the title and the planning position from our desk, call you to talk it through, and arrange a visit if the plot looks viable. If it is, a written offer follows, subject to survey, title and contract.
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.
- Your house keeps a smaller garden, which some future buyers will welcome and others won’t.
- 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 questions, answered for Emsworth
Will I need my own solicitor for a garden plot sale in Emsworth?
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.
How long does selling a garden plot in Emsworth 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.
What if my Emsworth 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 Havant Borough Council’s tree officer may comment on any application. We check for protected trees during the appraisal.
Can I sell the plot and keep living in my Emsworth 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.
Other options in Emsworth
- Sell subject to planning
- Bungalows on large plots
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Garden plot option agreement
- Build a new home in your garden
- Garage courts and yards

