- Planning authority
- East Hertfordshire District Council
- Postcodes
- SG12
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.4 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Hertfordshire
The local picture in Ware
Overshadowing is one of the first things a planning officer checks on a garden scheme. In Ware, the spring equinox sun reaches only about 38° at midday, which means a 5 m eaves line lays down a shadow around 6.4 m long. Come the shortest day, the sun climbs no higher than roughly 15° 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 East Hertfordshire District Council to approve. Sometimes that means a lower roof or a home set further back.
How we’d take it forward in Ware
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.
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.
- 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.
Ware: questions to ask
Will my neighbours in Ware be told about the application?
Yes. East Hertfordshire District 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.
Do I keep my garden in Ware 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.
Can I still use my garden in Ware 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.
What if I want to sell my Ware 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.
Other options in Ware
- Plot feasibility and design
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Sell part of your garden
- Build a new home in your garden
- Bungalows on large plots
- Planning permission for a garden plot

