- Planning authority
- Hertsmere Borough Council
- Postcodes
- WD6, WD7
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.3 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Hertfordshire
The local picture in Borehamwood
Hertsmere Borough Council judges every application against the council’s Local Plan, and a conditional contract is only as good as the planning case behind it. So before agreeing terms on a garden in Borehamwood, we read the policies on homes in gardens, any guidance on parking and privacy distances, and the council’s recent decisions on similar plots. That tells us what kind of scheme stands the best chance and how long the long-stop date ought to be. If the policies point firmly against a new home, we won’t suggest a conditional sale at all.
How we’d take it forward in Borehamwood
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.
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.
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.
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.
Worth checking early
- 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.
- Capital Gains Tax timing on a conditional sale can differ from an ordinary sale; take advice from a tax adviser.
Questions about garden plots in Borehamwood
Do I keep my garden in Borehamwood 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 Borehamwood be told about the application?
Yes. Hertsmere 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.
Who decides the planning application on a conditional sale in Borehamwood?
That is Hertsmere Borough 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.
Is a sale subject to planning in Borehamwood 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.
Other options in Borehamwood
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Corner and side plots
- Build a new home in your garden
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Garden plot option agreement

