- Planning authority
- Halton Borough Council
- Postcodes
- WA7
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 37°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.7 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Cheshire
Before you decide in Runcorn
On a conditional sale, the contract defines what kind of permission triggers completion. In Runcorn, that definition has to reflect what Halton Borough Council is likely to ask for: access standards, parking, perhaps biodiversity net gain rules, and possibly a contribution or the Community Infrastructure Levy if the council charges it.
Getting this right protects both sides. Set too tightly, a sound permission might not count; too loosely, you could be held to a sale on terms nobody expected. We draft it around the council’s Local Plan and explain every limb of it before you sign.
How we’d take it forward in Runcorn
From first enquiry to exchange of contracts usually takes a few months, set mainly by the solicitors and any title questions. The planning stage then runs on its own timetable, depending on surveys and on Halton Borough Council. We keep you updated throughout, share the drawings before submission and tell you as soon as a decision is issued.
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.
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.
Worth checking early
- You wait for a planning decision, and possibly an appeal, before you are paid.
- The plot can’t be sold to anyone else while the contract runs, even if another offer comes along.
- Once contracts are exchanged you are committed to sell if a satisfactory permission is granted.
Questions about garden plots in Runcorn
Do I pay for the planning application on my Runcorn garden plot?
We normally fund the planning application, including surveys and drawings. Any recovery of those costs is agreed in heads of terms before you sign, for example as a deduction from the price at completion. You see the full position before instructing a solicitor, so there are no surprises later.
What if I want to sell my Runcorn house during a conditional sale?
Tell us as early as you can. The conditional contract is noted on your title, so your house buyer’s solicitor will see it. The two sales can usually be arranged together, but the order matters for the legal work and possibly for Capital Gains Tax, so take advice from a tax adviser too.
Is a sale subject to planning in Runcorn better than an option?
It depends on the plot. A conditional sale binds both sides from exchange and suits a single plot with a clear scheme. An option gives us a right to buy rather than an obligation, and suits plots where the outcome is less certain or the timescale is longer. We’ll recommend one after the appraisal.
Do I keep my garden in Runcorn if planning is refused?
Yes. Nothing is transferred until a satisfactory permission is granted, so a refusal leaves the land in your ownership. Depending on the contract, we may revise the scheme and reapply, or appeal, before the long-stop date. If that doesn’t succeed, the contract ends and our notice comes off your title.
Other options in Runcorn
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Build a new home in your garden
- Bungalows on large plots
- Large rear gardens
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Build a home for family in your garden