Sell part of your garden in Machynlleth

We’re Backland Development, a new brand within the S&K Group, and we’re looking to buy garden plots from homeowners in Machynlleth and across Powys. The idea is simple: you keep your home and sell us the part of the garden that could hold another one. We take on the planning risk, the design and the build; your side is mostly a conversation and a solicitor.

Whether you have permission already or not, we’ll make a written offer if the plot works and explain how we arrived at it. Location, size, access and planning all affect the figure, which is why we don’t guess at prices before seeing the title and the site.

Long back garden with a string line and marker pegs across the lawn showing where a plot could be split off
Planning authority
Powys County Council
Postcodes
SY20
Noon sun, 21 March
About 37°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.5 m
Planning plan
LDP
County
Powys

How it plays out in Machynlleth

Every garden sale in Machynlleth ends up as a transfer of part, so the title is where our checks begin. We look for covenants that restrict building, rights of way crossing the plot, and whether the boundary on the ground matches the plan. A mortgage lender will need to release the plot, and a sewer under the lawn may need a build-over agreement.

On the planning side, the searches show what Powys County Council has approved or refused at the address, and the council’s Local Development Plan (LDP) shows how it views new homes in gardens. Together, these tell us whether to make an offer before anyone takes a tape measure out.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Machynlleth: about 37 degrees on 21 March and 14 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 37°, shadow 6.5 m21 Dec, noon: sun 14°, shadow 20.1 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Machynlleth: around 37° of sun at midday in late March and about 14° 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

Next steps in Machynlleth 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.

  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.
  • Lender consent, old covenants or access disputes can slow a sale, and occasionally stop it.

Machynlleth: questions to ask

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

Powys County Council decides, as the local planning authority, using the council’s Local Development Plan (LDP) and Planning Policy Wales (PPW). 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 I pay Land Transaction Tax (LTT) when I sell a garden plot in Machynlleth?

No. Land Transaction Tax (LTT) 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 the plot and keep living in my Machynlleth 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.

Can I sell part of my garden in Machynlleth 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 Powys County 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.

Other options in Machynlleth

Sell your garden plot near Machynlleth

Find out what your garden could become

Free garden plot appraisal. No cost, no obligation, and a straight answer if it won’t work.