Garden and backland plots wanted in Potters Bar
Looking to sell garden and backland plots near Potters Bar? We assess every site on its merits and explain the options in plain English.
If you have a long garden, or land behind your house with access to a lane or road, it may be a backland plot. We assess access, neighbours and the council's policy on garden land before suggesting a way forward.
- 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 Potters Bar
In parts of Potters Bar with long gardens or rear lanes, backland plots can work well if the access is wide enough and neighbours are treated fairly. Sitting about 8 miles south-west of Hertford, Potters Bar is within Hertfordshire, with Barnet and Borehamwood close by.
- Land behind houses with an existing drive or gap for access
- Paddocks and orchards behind homes on the edge of a village
- Plots where the owner wants to keep their house
- Sites with or without previous applications
Hertfordshire is a county of medium-sized towns, including Watford, Hemel Hempstead, Stevenage, St Albans, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield and Hitchin, with many villages between them. Most of the county lies within the Metropolitan Green Belt and the Chilterns National Landscape covers the west, so grey belt, previously developed land and infill sites are especially important. Larger growth is usually planned as urban extensions and new communities through local plans.
Checks we make on garden and backland plots in Potters Bar
Access width
The drive or road into the plot must be safe for cars, bins and emergency vehicles.
Your own property
Selling garden land changes your home, so we plan boundaries and access carefully.
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.
Parts of Hertfordshire are Green Belt, though not every town has any nearby. We check early whether a site is inside it and, if so, whether a grey belt or previously developed land case could apply.
Our base is in Great Barr, Birmingham, about 94 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 contractThe next steps
Send the basics
A postcode or plan and a few lines about the land are enough to start.
We do the homework
We check planning history, policy, flood maps and access at no cost to you.
We explain the options
You get a written proposal covering price, structure and timing.
Agree and proceed
Once you are happy, solicitors are instructed and the deal moves forward.
Garden and backland plots in Potters Bar: common questions
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.
My neighbours might sell too. Does that help?
Often, yes. Combining gardens can create a better site and access. We can talk to each owner and keep the arrangement fair.
How quickly can you look at a site in Potters Bar?
For most sites we can give an initial view once we have the location and a plan. Detailed checks follow if the land looks suitable.
Which planning rules apply to land in Potters Bar?
As Potters Bar 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.