Garden and backland plots wanted in Ashton-in-Makerfield
Looking to sell garden and backland plots near Ashton-in-Makerfield? We assess every site on its merits and explain the options in plain English.
A backland plot is land behind existing buildings, usually large rear gardens, reached by a new or existing access. Garden land can sometimes take new homes, especially where several neighbours sell together or a lane runs along the back.

- Size
- 1 to 20 homes typically
- Planning
- Usually without
- Areas
- England & Wales
- Ways we buy
- Conditional or outright
Is your land in Ashton-in-Makerfield the kind we want?
In parts of Ashton-in-Makerfield with long gardens or rear lanes, backland plots can work well if the access is wide enough and neighbours are treated fairly. In Greater Manchester, Ashton-in-Makerfield sits about 17 miles west of Manchester; Haydock and Golborne are its nearest neighbours on our list.
- Several neighbouring gardens that could be combined
- Land behind houses with an existing drive or gap for access
- Paddocks and orchards behind homes on the edge of a village
- Sites with or without previous applications
Greater Manchester is a dense conurbation centred on Manchester and Salford, ringed by towns such as Bolton, Wigan, Oldham, Rochdale, Bury, Stockport and Altrincham. Green Belt separates many of these towns and covers the moorland fringe, so most housing land is previously developed: former mills, industrial estates, yards and town-centre sites. Grey belt and small edge-of-settlement fields can also come forward on the urban fringe.
What usually makes or breaks it
Access width
The drive or road into the plot must be safe for cars, bins and emergency vehicles.
Local garden policy
Some councils resist garden development; others support it where character is respected.
Your own property
Selling garden land changes your home, so we plan boundaries and access carefully.
In England, a planning permission normally has to be implemented within three years unless the council sets a different period, and councils aim to decide minor applications within eight weeks and major ones within thirteen.
Our base is in Great Barr, Birmingham, about 72 miles away, and we buy land throughout England and Wales.
Four ways to sell to us
Outright purchase
We agree a price and buy the land, with no planning condition attached.
Outright purchaseSubject-to-planning contract
We agree a price now and complete once a satisfactory planning permission is granted.
Subject-to-planning contractOption agreement
You grant us the right to buy within a set period, usually for an option premium, while we pursue planning.
Option agreementJoint venture
You contribute the land, we fund and manage planning and delivery, and the proceeds are shared as agreed.
Joint ventureFrom first call to completion
Get in touch
Tell us where the land is and what you know about it.
Site review
We look at the land, its planning position and anything that could affect it.
Proposal
We put our proposal in writing, with no obligation to accept.
Exchange and completion
If you go ahead, contracts are exchanged and the sale completes on the agreed terms.
Your questions answered
Will selling part of my garden affect my house value?
It can, and the effect varies. We plan the boundary and access to protect your home, and you should take independent advice on the overall position.
Do I pay tax on selling garden land?
Tax depends on your circumstances, including how much land you have and how it has been used. Speak to a tax adviser before you agree terms.
Is Ashton-in-Makerfield too far from our Birmingham base?
No. We are based in Great Barr, Birmingham, about 72 miles from Ashton-in-Makerfield, and we look at land right across England and Wales.
Which planning rules apply to land in Ashton-in-Makerfield?
As Ashton-in-Makerfield is in England, national policy comes from the National Planning Policy Framework, revised in August 2026. Local policies in the council's development plan also apply.
