Backland Development
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Sell your garden plot subject to planning in Mountain Ash

Planning is the biggest unknown on any garden plot in Mountain Ash, and a conditional contract is a way of sharing it fairly. We take on the cost and work of the application, normally funding it ourselves. You take on the wait. If the council approves a scheme that meets the agreed definition, we complete at the agreed price; if it doesn’t, you still own the land.

That balance suits plots where a sensible scheme is visible from the start. It suits less well where access is doubtful or a neighbour’s land is needed, and we’ll tell you if yours falls into that group.

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Site plan and house elevation drawings on a kitchen table with the back garden beyond the window
Planning authority
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council
Postcodes
CF45
Noon sun, 21 March
About 38°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.3 m
Planning plan
LDP
County
Mid Glamorgan

Mountain Ash: light, access and policy

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council judges every application against the council’s Local Development Plan (LDP), and a conditional contract is only as good as the planning case behind it. So before agreeing terms on a garden in Mountain Ash, 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 Mountain Ash: about 38 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 38°, shadow 6.3 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 18.8 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Mountain Ash: around 38° of sun at midday in late March and about 15° 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.

The next steps, locally

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. 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

  • The plot can’t be sold to anyone else while the contract runs, even if another offer comes along.
  • 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.

Mountain Ash: questions to ask

Who decides the planning application on a conditional sale in Mountain Ash?

That is Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council’s decision as the local planning authority, made under the council’s Local Development Plan (LDP) and Planning Policy Wales (PPW). 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.

How long might a sale subject to planning take in Mountain Ash?

It usually runs for months, sometimes longer. Exchange often takes a few months; surveys and drawings take a few more; and the Planning Portal says most applications are decided within eight weeks of being valid, though garden schemes can take longer. The long-stop date sets the outer limit, agreed with you at the start.

Will my neighbours in Mountain Ash be told about the application?

Yes. Rhondda Cynon Taf County 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.

What if I want to sell my Mountain Ash 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 Mountain Ash

Subject to planning near Mountain Ash

Find out what your garden could become

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