Backland Development
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Sell part of your garden in Canterbury

Turning part of a Canterbury garden into money doesn’t have to mean selling up. A plot sale transfers only the land you choose, leaves your house on its existing title with a new boundary, and gives the plot a title of its own at HM Land Registry. If the house is mortgaged, your lender signs off the release.

From there, any planning application is ours to make, and the risk of refusal is ours to carry. You’d see the plans like any neighbour and could comment on them. If you’d prefer to sell only once permission is granted, our sale subject to planning works that way instead.

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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
Canterbury City Council
Postcodes
CT1, CT2
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.2 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Kent

Canterbury: light, access and policy

Light is often the deciding issue on a garden plot. At midday on 21 March the sun in Canterbury stands about 39° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line casts a shadow of roughly 6.2 m across the ground behind it. By late December, with the sun only around 15° up, those shadows stretch much further.

That’s why the gap between your house and any new home matters so much to Canterbury City 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.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Canterbury: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.2 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 18.3 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Canterbury on 21 March sits about 39° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.2 m. In December the sun is only about 15° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

How we’d take it forward in Canterbury

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

  • 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.
  • A new home will be built close to yours, with building work and deliveries for a period.

Questions about garden plots in Canterbury

Can I sell part of my garden in Canterbury 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 Canterbury City 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.

How long does selling a garden plot in Canterbury 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.

Who decides whether a new home can be built in a Canterbury garden?

Canterbury City 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.

Do you buy garden plots in Whitstable, Herne Bay and Faversham as well as Canterbury?

Yes. We cover England and Wales, including the places around Canterbury. 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.

Other options in Canterbury

Sell your garden plot near Canterbury

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