Garden and backland plots wanted in St Albans
Looking to sell garden and backland plots near St Albans? 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
Is your land in St Albans the kind we want?
Around St Albans, garden land is most promising where a lane already runs behind the houses or two or three neighbours can sell together. In Hertfordshire, St Albans sits about 11 miles west of Hertford; Harpenden and Hatfield 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
- 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.
What decides whether a site in St Albans works
Access width
The drive or road into the plot must be safe for cars, bins and emergency vehicles.
Overlooking
New homes must sit far enough from existing homes to protect privacy.
Your own property
Selling garden land changes your home, so we plan boundaries and access carefully.
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.
Though we are based in Birmingham (roughly 87 miles away), distance is no barrier: we look at land across England and Wales.
Four ways to sell to us
Subject-to-planning contract
The usual route: we apply and you only sell if 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 agreementHow 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.
Garden and backland plots in St Albans: 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.
Do you buy garden and backland plots in St Albans?
Yes. We buy garden and backland plots in St Albans and throughout Hertfordshire, 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 St Albans 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.