Backland Development
0800 088 6248Free to call Free plot appraisal

Sell your garden plot subject to planning in Ashford, Kent

Selling your garden plot in Ashford subject to planning means agreeing the price now and completing only once permission is granted. Contracts are exchanged at the start, so both sides are committed, but the plot stays in your name until the condition is met. If Ashford Borough Council refuses and the contract ends, you keep your land.

We normally fund the planning application, with any cost recovery agreed in heads of terms before you sign. That lets you benefit from a price informed by planning without paying for drawings, surveys or fees yourself. Our free appraisal tells you whether the plot looks right for it.

Get a free appraisalCheck my garden
Site plan and house elevation drawings on a kitchen table with the back garden beyond the window
Planning authority
Ashford Borough Council
Postcodes
TN23, TN24
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.2 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Kent

How it plays out in Ashford, Kent

Garden plots vary enormously, from long, straight gardens to wide corner plots, so for a garden in TN23 and TN24 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 Ashford Borough Council a scheme grounded in the real site rather than an outline on a map.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Ashford: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.2 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 18.1 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Ashford on 21 March sits about 39° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.2 m. In December the sun is only about 15° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

How we’d take it forward in Ashford, Kent

From first enquiry to exchange of contracts usually takes a few months, set mainly by the solicitors and any title questions. The planning stage then runs on its own timetable, depending on surveys and on Ashford Borough Council. We keep you updated throughout, share the drawings before submission and tell you as soon as a decision is issued.

  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. 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.

  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

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

Ashford, Kent: questions to ask

What if I want to sell my Ashford 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.

Can I still use my garden in Ashford 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 Ashford be told about the application?

Yes. Ashford 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.

Do I keep my garden in Ashford 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.

Other options in Ashford

Subject to planning near Ashford

Find out what your garden could become

Free garden plot appraisal. No cost, no obligation, and a straight answer if it won’t work.

Get my free appraisal 0800 088 6248