Backland Development
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Sell your garden plot subject to planning in Sittingbourne

Here is the shape of a conditional garden plot sale in Sittingbourne. Heads of terms come first, setting out the price, the scheme we have in mind and the long-stop date. Solicitors then prepare the contract, and on exchange our interest is noted on your title. We apply to Swale Borough Council, and completion follows a satisfactory permission.

Each stage has its own pace. The whole thing usually runs for months rather than weeks, mostly because of surveys and the council’s decision period. Nothing about it is rushed, and nothing is promised that depends on the council.

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Site plan and house elevation drawings on a kitchen table with the back garden beyond the window
Planning authority
Swale Borough Council
Postcodes
ME9, ME10
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.3 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Kent

The local picture in Sittingbourne

Neighbours in ME9 and ME10 will receive notice of any application on your plot, and some will comment. Swale Borough Council weighs those comments against planning policy rather than counting them, but a scheme that answers obvious worries about privacy, light and traffic before they are raised usually fares better.

Because you will still be living next door, we agree with you how and when neighbours hear about the plans. Some sellers prefer to speak to adjoining owners themselves before the application goes in; others leave it to the formal notice.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Sittingbourne: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.3 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 18.4 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Sittingbourne on 21 March sits about 39° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.3 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 Sittingbourne

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.

  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.
  • Once contracts are exchanged you are committed to sell if a satisfactory permission is granted.

Sittingbourne: questions to ask

What if I want to sell my Sittingbourne 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.

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

That is Swale 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 Sittingbourne 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.

Do I keep my garden in Sittingbourne 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 Sittingbourne

Subject to planning near Sittingbourne

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