Garden and backland plots wanted in Heywood
We are actively looking for garden and backland plots in Heywood and the surrounding area, with or without planning permission.
Garden and backland development means building new homes on land behind existing houses. It works best where there is a safe access and enough space to avoid overlooking. We buy single large gardens and assemble neighbouring gardens where owners agree.
- Size
- 1 to 20 homes typically
- Planning
- Usually without
- Areas
- England & Wales
- Ways we buy
- Conditional or outright
The garden and backland plots that interests us around Heywood
Around Heywood, garden land is most promising where a lane already runs behind the houses or two or three neighbours can sell together. Heywood lies about 8 miles north of Manchester in Greater Manchester. We also cover Middleton, Rochdale, Bury and the villages between them.
- Long rear gardens backing onto a lane, road or track
- Several neighbouring gardens that could be combined
- Plots where the owner wants to keep their house
- 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 decides whether a site in Heywood works
Overlooking
New homes must sit far enough from existing homes to protect privacy.
Local garden policy
Some councils resist garden development; others support it where character is respected.
Mortgage consent
If your home is mortgaged, the lender will usually need to release the garden land.
In England, the revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 17 August 2026 replaced the old "tilted balance" with new settlement policies: development within a settlement should normally be approved unless the harm substantially outweighs the benefits, while land outside a settlement can gain support in defined circumstances.
Some land in Greater Manchester is designated Green Belt. If your land is within it, it may still qualify as grey belt or previously developed land under national policy, subject to the Golden Rules.
Though we are based in Birmingham (roughly 73 miles away), distance is no barrier: we look at land across England and Wales.
Choosing how to sell
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 contractJoint venture
You contribute the land, we fund and manage planning and delivery, and the proceeds are shared as agreed.
Joint ventureHow a sale to us works
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.
Questions owners in Heywood ask
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.
Do you buy garden and backland plots in Heywood?
Yes. We buy garden and backland plots in Heywood and throughout Greater Manchester, as well as elsewhere in England and Wales. Tell us where the land is and we will give you a free appraisal.
Can an agent introduce land in Heywood to you?
Yes. Estate agents, land agents and planning consultants can introduce sites with the owner's consent. Any fee is agreed in writing before details are shared, confirmed by the owner in writing and paid only on completion.