Backland Development
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Sell your garden plot subject to planning in Ormskirk

Selling your garden plot in Ormskirk 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 West Lancashire 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.

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Site plan and house elevation drawings on a kitchen table with the back garden beyond the window
Planning authority
West Lancashire Borough Council
Postcodes
L39
Noon sun, 21 March
About 36°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.8 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Lancashire

The local picture in Ormskirk

West Lancashire 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 Ormskirk, 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.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Ormskirk: about 36 degrees on 21 March and 13 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 36°, shadow 6.8 m21 Dec, noon: sun 13°, shadow 21.7 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Ormskirk: around 36° of sun at midday in late March and about 13° at midwinter. It shows why the gap between your house and a new home behind it is about light as well as privacy. Garden assumed to face north.

From first call to decision

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 West Lancashire 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. 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.

  4. 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

  • Once contracts are exchanged you are committed to sell if a satisfactory permission is granted.
  • The plot can’t be sold to anyone else while the contract runs, even if another offer comes along.
  • The definition of satisfactory permission and the long-stop date decide how certain the sale really is; read both closely.

Your questions, answered for Ormskirk

Do I keep my garden in Ormskirk 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 Ormskirk be told about the application?

Yes. West Lancashire 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 Ormskirk?

That is West Lancashire 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.

Can I still use my garden in Ormskirk 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.

Other options in Ormskirk

Subject to planning near Ormskirk

Find out what your garden could become

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

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