- Planning authority
- Isle of Wight Council
- Postcodes
- PO36
- 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
Sandown: light, access and policy
Light is often the deciding issue on a garden plot. At midday on 21 March the sun in Sandown 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 Isle of Wight 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.
From first call to decision
Next steps in Sandown 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
- 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.
- Selling the plot after you have sold or moved out of the house can change the tax position; take advice from a tax adviser.
Questions about garden plots in Sandown
Who decides whether a new home can be built in a Sandown garden?
Isle of Wight 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 Sandown 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.
What if my Sandown 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 Isle of Wight Council’s tree officer may comment on any application. We check for protected trees during the appraisal.
How long does selling a garden plot in Sandown 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.
Other options in Sandown
- Bungalows on large plots
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Large rear gardens
- Tandem and landlocked plots

