- Nation
- England
- National planning policy
- NPPF
- Planning authorities
- 6
- County town
- Reading
Berkshire: the planning picture
Pre-application advice can save months on a garden plot. Many councils offer it, usually for a fee, and a written response from a planning officer shows early whether the principle of a new home is acceptable and what the council wants changed. On a conditional sale we normally arrange and fund this before submitting. It isn’t binding on the council, and it doesn’t replace the formal application, but it often shapes the drawings, and it helps both sides judge whether the long-stop date gives enough room.
Planning authorities covering Berkshire include Bracknell Forest Council, Reading Borough Council, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Slough Borough Council, West Berkshire Council, Wokingham Borough Council.
How it works
Free plot appraisal
We check your title, access, planning history and local policy from our desk, then talk it through with you. If a new home looks realistic, we visit the garden and tell you which route we think suits it best.
Heads of terms
We set out the price or price formula, what counts as satisfactory permission, the long-stop date, how any planning costs are treated and who pays which fees. You see all of it before instructing a solicitor.
Exchange of conditional contracts
Both solicitors agree the contract and the plan of the plot. On exchange, both sides are bound, subject to the planning condition, and our contract is noted on your title so the plot can’t be sold elsewhere.
Planning application
We commission the surveys, prepare the drawings, seek pre-application advice where useful and submit the application, normally at our cost. You see the plans before they go in, and the council makes the decision.
Completion, or you keep your land
Once a satisfactory permission is granted and any challenge period has passed, the sale completes within the agreed time and the plot gets its own title. If permission is refused and the contract ends, the land stays yours.
Subject to planning in towns across Berkshire
- Reading
- Slough
- Bracknell
- Maidenhead
- Wokingham
- Newbury
- Earley
- Windsor
- Woodley
- Crowthorne
- Thatcham
- Sandhurst
- Ascot
Questions about subject to planning in Berkshire
Do you buy garden plots subject to planning in Berkshire?
Yes. Where a plot in Berkshire has a realistic chance of permission, we can agree a conditional contract: price fixed now, completion only once a satisfactory permission is granted. We normally fund the application. If it is refused and the contract ends, you keep your land.
Which councils decide applications for garden plots in Berkshire?
Each address falls under one local planning authority, and in Berkshire the authorities include Bracknell Forest Council, Reading Borough Council, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Slough Borough Council, West Berkshire Council and other councils. Every one of them works to its own Local Plan alongside the NPPF, and some add guidance specifically on garden development, so we shape each scheme around the policies of the council that will judge it.
What surveys might a garden plot in Berkshire need for planning?
Commonly a measured survey, a tree survey and a preliminary ecology check, plus drainage and sometimes flood risk work. Some ecology surveys can only be done at certain times of year, which affects the timetable. On a sale subject to planning, we normally commission and fund these as part of the application.
How much is a garden plot in Berkshire worth?
It depends on location, size, access, title and, above all, planning. Two similar gardens in the same street can be worth very different amounts if one has easy access and the other doesn’t. We don’t quote figures before we’ve looked at a plot properly; the free appraisal is the way to find out.