- Planning authority
- Spelthorne Borough Council
- Postcodes
- TW18, TW19
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.3 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Surrey
Staines-upon-Thames: light, access and policy
On a conditional sale, the contract defines what kind of permission triggers completion. In Staines-upon-Thames, that definition has to reflect what Spelthorne Borough Council is likely to ask for: access standards, parking, perhaps biodiversity net gain rules, and possibly a contribution or the Community Infrastructure Levy if the council charges it.
Getting this right protects both sides. Set too tightly, a sound permission might not count; too loosely, you could be held to a sale on terms nobody expected. We draft it around the council’s Local Plan and explain every limb of it before you sign.
What happens next in Staines-upon-Thames
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.
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.
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.
- The definition of satisfactory permission and the long-stop date decide how certain the sale really is; read both closely.
Questions about garden plots in Staines-upon-Thames
Can I still use my garden in Staines-upon-Thames 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.
Who decides the planning application on a conditional sale in Staines-upon-Thames?
That is Spelthorne 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.
Do I pay for the planning application on my Staines-upon-Thames garden plot?
We normally fund the planning application, including surveys and drawings. Any recovery of those costs is agreed in heads of terms before you sign, for example as a deduction from the price at completion. You see the full position before instructing a solicitor, so there are no surprises later.
Will my neighbours in Staines-upon-Thames be told about the application?
Yes. Spelthorne 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.
Other options in Staines-upon-Thames
- Build a new home in your garden
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Garden plot option agreement
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Large rear gardens
- Bungalows on large plots