Backland Development
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Sell your garden plot subject to planning in Cambridgeshire

Some homeowners in Cambridgeshire want more than an outright sale price but don’t want to fund or run a planning application themselves. Selling subject to planning is designed for that position. The price, or a formula for it, is fixed before exchange; we carry the planning work; and you are paid on completion once permission is in place.

The waiting is the trade-off. A council decision, and sometimes a resubmission or appeal, all sit between exchange and completion, inside a long-stop date agreed at the outset. Our free appraisal tells you whether a plot looks strong enough for this route before anyone signs anything.

Get a free appraisalAbout subject to planning
Site plan and house elevation drawings on a kitchen table with the back garden beyond the window
Nation
England
National planning policy
NPPF
Planning authorities
6
City
Cambridge

Before you start in Cambridgeshire

Surveys can set the timetable for a conditional sale more than the council does. A garden plot in Cambridgeshire may need a tree survey, a preliminary ecology check, sometimes bat or reptile surveys, and a drainage strategy, because the new home will require a drainage plan the council will want to see. Some ecology work can only be done at certain times of year, which is why the long-stop date should allow for it. We plan the surveys at the outset, fund them as part of the application, and share the results with you.

Planning authorities covering Cambridgeshire include Cambridge City Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council, Fenland District Council, Huntingdonshire District Council, Peterborough City Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council.

How it works

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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 Cambridgeshire

Questions about subject to planning in Cambridgeshire

What surveys might a garden plot in Cambridgeshire 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.

Is a sale subject to planning legally binding in Cambridgeshire?

Yes, once contracts are exchanged. Both sides are committed to complete if a satisfactory permission is granted by the long-stop date. Before exchange, heads of terms aren’t binding, and either side can walk away. Your own solicitor should review the contract before you sign.

Which councils decide applications for garden plots in Cambridgeshire?

Each address falls under one local planning authority, and in Cambridgeshire the authorities include Cambridge City Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council, Fenland District Council, Huntingdonshire District Council, Peterborough City 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.

How much is a garden plot in Cambridgeshire 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.

Other options in Cambridgeshire

Everything we cover in Cambridgeshire

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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