- Planning authority
- Stevenage Borough Council
- Postcodes
- SG1
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.4 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Hertfordshire
The local picture in Stevenage
Stevenage Borough Council sets out its approach to new homes in the council’s Local Plan, and many councils add supplementary guidance on garden development, privacy distances and parking. Those documents, rather than rules of thumb, are what an application for a plot in Stevenage would be tested against. Before we offer on a garden, we read the relevant policies, look at recent decisions on similar plots nearby and check whether the site falls in a conservation area or flood zone. If the policies point against a new home, we say so rather than offering a price we can’t stand behind.
How we’d take it forward in Stevenage
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 Stevenage 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 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.
- Lender consent, old covenants or access disputes can slow a sale, and occasionally stop it.
Your questions, answered for Stevenage
Will I need my own solicitor for a garden plot sale in Stevenage?
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 Hitchin, Letchworth Garden City and Welwyn Garden City as well as Stevenage?
Yes. We cover England and Wales, including the places around Stevenage. 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.
Do I pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) when I sell a garden plot in Stevenage?
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 much is a garden plot in Stevenage 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.
Other options in Stevenage
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Garden plot option agreement
- Bungalows on large plots
- Plot feasibility and design
- Corner and side plots
- Garage courts and yards

