- Planning authority
- Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council
- Postcodes
- OL5, SK15
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 37°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.8 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Greater Manchester
The local picture in Stalybridge
Overshadowing is one of the first things a planning officer checks on a garden scheme. In Stalybridge, the spring equinox sun reaches only about 37° at midday, which means a 5 m eaves line lays down a shadow around 6.8 m long. Come the shortest day, the sun climbs no higher than roughly 13° and the shade stretches far beyond that.
We model those shadows when we design the scheme, because a home that keeps light off your windows and the neighbours’ gardens is easier for Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council to approve. Sometimes that means a lower roof or a home set further back.
The next steps, locally
Here is what to expect in Stalybridge. 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.
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
- Once contracts are exchanged you are committed to sell if a satisfactory permission is granted.
- You wait for a planning decision, and possibly an appeal, before you are paid.
- The definition of satisfactory permission and the long-stop date decide how certain the sale really is; read both closely.
Stalybridge: questions to ask
How long might a sale subject to planning take in Stalybridge?
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.
Do I pay for the planning application on my Stalybridge 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.
Do I keep my garden in Stalybridge 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.
Will my neighbours in Stalybridge be told about the application?
Yes. Tameside Metropolitan Borough 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.
Other options in Stalybridge
- Plot feasibility and design
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Bungalows on large plots
- Garden plot option agreement
- Garage courts and yards
- Planning promotion for your garden plot