- Planning authority
- Warwick District Council
- Postcodes
- CV8
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.5 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Warwickshire
Before you decide in Kenilworth
Warwick District 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 Kenilworth, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
- 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.
Questions about garden plots in Kenilworth
How long might a sale subject to planning take in Kenilworth?
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.
What if I want to sell my Kenilworth 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.
Do I keep my garden in Kenilworth 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.
Is a sale subject to planning in Kenilworth 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.
Other options in Kenilworth
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Build a new home in your garden
- Sell part of your garden
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Corner and side plots
- Combine gardens with your neighbours