- Planning authority
- Pendle Borough Council
- Postcodes
- BB8
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 36°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.8 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Lancashire
How it plays out in Colne
On many garden plots, access matters more than size. If a new home behind yours would be reached along a strip beside the house, Pendle Borough Council will look at how wide it is, how far drivers can see where it meets the road, and how much noise and headlight glare from passing cars would reach you and the neighbours.
Building regulations add their own test, because the new home will need fire engine access (or other measures, often sprinklers, agreed with building control and the fire service where a fire engine can’t get close enough). Whether your garden is in BB8 or just beyond, we measure the access early, since it shapes the offer more than almost anything else.
From first call to decision
Next steps in Colne 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
- 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.
- Your house keeps a smaller garden, which some future buyers will welcome and others won’t.
Colne: questions to ask
Can I sell part of my garden in Colne 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 Pendle Borough 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.
Do you buy garden plots in Nelson, Burnley and Accrington as well as Colne?
Yes. We cover England and Wales, including the places around Colne. 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.
How long does selling a garden plot in Colne 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.
Do I pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) when I sell a garden plot in Colne?
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.
Other options in Colne
- Corner and side plots
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Plot feasibility and design
- Build a new home in your garden
- Bungalows on large plots
- Planning promotion for your garden plot

