Backland Development
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Sell part of your garden in Freshwater

Selling land at the back of your house in Freshwater is a legal transaction more than a building one. Nothing gets dug or demolished before you sell. A new boundary is drawn on a plan, your solicitor prepares a transfer of part, any mortgage lender agrees to release the plot, and HM Land Registry gives it a title of its own.

What makes that plot worth buying is the prospect of a new home being allowed on it, and that turns on access, space and how a scheme would sit beside the houses around it. We look at all three for any garden in Freshwater before making a written offer.

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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
Isle of Wight Council
Postcodes
PO39, PO40
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.1 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Isle of Wight

How it plays out in Freshwater

Isle of Wight 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 Freshwater 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.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Freshwater: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 16 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.1 m21 Dec, noon: sun 16°, shadow 17.6 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Freshwater: around 39° of sun at midday in late March and about 16° 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.

From first call to decision

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

  • 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.
  • 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 Freshwater

Do I pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) when I sell a garden plot in Freshwater?

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.

Can I sell part of my garden in Freshwater 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 Isle of Wight 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.

Can I sell the plot and keep living in my Freshwater 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.

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

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.

Other options in Freshwater

Sell your garden plot near Freshwater

Find out what your garden could become

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