Backland Development
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Sell your garden plot subject to planning in Manchester

Why not simply apply for planning on your Manchester garden first and sell afterwards? You can, but it means paying for surveys, drawings and fees yourself, with no buyer committed while you wait. On a sale subject to planning, we do that work and normally carry the cost, and the price is fixed before the council decides.

You still get a say. You see the drawings before submission, and the contract can fix points that matter to you, such as where windows face, how high the new home can be, or who builds the new boundary fence.

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Site plan and house elevation drawings on a kitchen table with the back garden beyond the window
Planning authority
Manchester City Council
Postcodes
M1, M2, M3, M4, M13
Noon sun, 21 March
About 37°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.8 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Greater Manchester

Manchester: light, access and policy

Some of the strongest conditional sales involve more than one garden. If your plot in Manchester is a little narrow, a neighbour’s garden beside it may make a better scheme possible, and the same is true in places nearby such as Salford, Failsworth and Droylsden. Manchester City Council would then judge one application for the combined site. Each owner can sign a separate conditional contract, linked so that none completes unless the scheme for the whole site is approved.

That needs careful drafting and patience, and it isn’t right for every street. When it does fit, it can turn two awkward plots into one good one.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Manchester: about 37 degrees on 21 March and 13 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 37°, shadow 6.8 m21 Dec, noon: sun 13°, shadow 21.5 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Manchester: around 37° of sun at midday in late March and about 13° 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 Manchester

Here is what to expect in Manchester. First a phone call, then a desk check of the title and the council’s Local Plan, then a visit if the plot looks promising. If we both want to go ahead, heads of terms set out what we would agree, without obligation, before solicitors draft the conditional contract. The appraisal costs nothing.

  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

  • 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.
  • Capital Gains Tax timing on a conditional sale can differ from an ordinary sale; take advice from a tax adviser.

Your questions, answered for Manchester

Can I still use my garden in Manchester 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.

Will my neighbours in Manchester be told about the application?

Yes. Manchester City Council publicises applications through letters to neighbours, a site notice, or both, depending on its practice. Neighbours can comment, and the council weighs their views against planning policy. You can choose whether to speak to adjoining owners before the application goes in, and we’ll fit in with what you prefer.

Is a sale subject to planning in Manchester 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.

Who decides the planning application on a conditional sale in Manchester?

That is Manchester City Council’s decision as the local planning authority, made under the council’s Local Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). We prepare the application, submit it and answer the council’s questions, but the outcome isn’t ours to control. That’s why the contract has a long-stop date and says what happens if permission is refused.

Other options in Manchester

Subject to planning near Manchester

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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