Backland Development
0800 088 6248Free to call Free plot appraisal

Sell part of your garden in Newmarket

We’re Backland Development, a new brand within the S&K Group, and we’re looking to buy garden plots from homeowners in Newmarket and across Suffolk. 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.

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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
West Suffolk Council
Postcodes
CB8
Noon sun, 21 March
About 38°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.5 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Suffolk

Newmarket: light, access and policy

West Suffolk 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 Newmarket 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 Newmarket: about 38 degrees on 21 March and 14 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 38°, shadow 6.5 m21 Dec, noon: sun 14°, shadow 19.6 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Newmarket: around 38° 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.

What happens next in Newmarket

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. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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

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

Newmarket: questions to ask

Can I sell part of my garden in Newmarket 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 West Suffolk 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 much is a garden plot in Newmarket worth?

It depends on location, size, access and planning, so there’s no honest figure without looking at the plot itself. A garden with good access and room for a well-spaced home is a stronger plot than one with a narrow, shared or doubtful route in. Our free appraisal is the way to find out, and any offer comes in writing.

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

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.

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

West Suffolk 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.

Other options in Newmarket

Sell your garden plot near Newmarket

Find out what your garden could become

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

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