Property developers are becoming so desperate for building space that they are chasing homeowners hoping they will sell off their gardens. They hope the temptation of large cash sums will tempt householders into parting with their gardens as the credit crunch and rising prices makes life more difficult for everyone.
However, the so-called ‘garden grabs’ have come under fire from communities and wild life experts who are calling on councils to stop the practice via the planning process.
One woman in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, was offered £125,000 for her 300ft garden, and said her neighbours were already in the process of selling their gardens off to a property developer.
Investments director at Foxtons estate agency, John Ennis, said that sales of gardens in London had increased in the past 18 months. He said: “We are often approached to sell plots of land which may include garden spaces. However all developments are subject to planning.”
As the Government has said that it wants 70% of new homes to built on ‘brownfield’ sites, developers are keen on gardens, which fall into this category. However, this definition was drawn up in the 1980s when buying and building in gardens was not so common.
The Wildlife Trust says that since then, the amount of green space that has disappeared from London is equivalent to an area 22 times the size of Hyde Park.
Current mayor Ken Livingstone says the London Plan will be revised to stop over-development on back gardens in the suburbs, and Conervative mayoral candidate Boris Johnson has also promised to protect gardens.
Despite its target for building on brownfield sites the Government has urged councils to stop these garden grabs. A spokesman at the Communities Department said: “New planning rules have strengthened council’s powers to reject inappropriate housing development in back gardens.”
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