Backland Development
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Sell your garden plot subject to planning in Brighton

If your Brighton garden could hold a new home but you’d rather not sell it before the planning question is answered, a conditional contract is worth a look. We agree a fixed price, or a formula linked to what the council approves, and exchange contracts. Then we design the scheme, carry out the surveys and apply.

You keep living in your house and using the garden throughout, and you see the drawings before they go to Brighton and Hove City Council. If a satisfactory permission arrives within the agreed time, the sale completes and the plot gets its own title. If not, nothing has been transferred.

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Site plan and house elevation drawings on a kitchen table with the back garden beyond the window
Planning authority
Brighton and Hove City Council
Postcodes
BN1, BN2
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.1 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
East Sussex

The local picture in Brighton

Garden plots vary enormously, from long, straight gardens to wide corner plots, so for a garden in BN1 and BN2 the first visit is about measuring rather than guessing. We record the plot’s depth and width, the route from the road, levels, trees and the neighbouring windows that face it.

Those measurements decide how the conditional contract is drafted. They feed the price formula, set what counts as a satisfactory permission and show how much time the long-stop date needs. They also give Brighton and Hove City Council a scheme grounded in the real site rather than an outline on a map.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Brighton: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 16 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.1 m21 Dec, noon: sun 16°, shadow 17.8 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Brighton: around 39° of sun at midday in late March and about 16° 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 Brighton

Getting started takes one message: your address and a rough sketch or description of the land you have in mind. From that we pull the title, look at the planning background and ring you with our view. If a conditional sale looks sensible, we come out to see the garden. Heads of terms follow, and your solicitor reviews them before anything is signed.

  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. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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

  • The plot can’t be sold to anyone else while the contract runs, even if another offer comes along.
  • Capital Gains Tax timing on a conditional sale can differ from an ordinary sale; take advice from a tax adviser.
  • You wait for a planning decision, and possibly an appeal, before you are paid.

Your questions, answered for Brighton

Do I pay for the planning application on my Brighton 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.

Is a sale subject to planning in Brighton 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.

Can I still use my garden in Brighton while the contract runs?

Yes. The plot stays yours until completion, so you carry on using it as garden. The contract will ask you not to build on it, fell trees or grant new rights over it without agreement, and to allow surveyors in from time to time, by arrangement. Your solicitor will point out anything specific.

How long might a sale subject to planning take in Brighton?

It usually runs for months, sometimes longer. Exchange often takes a few months; surveys and drawings take a few more; and the Planning Portal says most applications are decided within eight weeks of being valid, though garden schemes can take longer. The long-stop date sets the outer limit, agreed with you at the start.

Other options in Brighton

Subject to planning near Brighton

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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