Capital Gains on development site near home

[Linda Clayton]

In Nov 2016 we bought a property that was a former garden nursery with a four bed house on it, the site is around 1 acre in total. It currently has a building (steel agricultural looking thing) and car parking area with General Storage B8 and Retail A1 use, but we have had no business use for it, we’re using it for household storage and parking for our own cars, and I believe the nursery closed for business about 5 years ago.

To make matters a little more complicated, we have just got permission to build a B1 joinery workshop on the opposite side of the house for our business, Clayton Cabinets. The planning permission for that does not encompass the site I am referring to.

We are now considering applying for planning permission for a four bedroom dormer bungalow on the site (which is about one fifth of an acre) - we would sell the site with the permission, not build it ourselves. The idea is to raise some revenue to help get our new joinery workshop up and running, but I am wondering where we stand with regards to CGT?

We live in the house, with our two children. We bought the entire site for £420,000 and do not have a mortgage.

I am just wondering if it might be worth getting the usage on the 1/5 acre site back to residential use before we apply for planning permission/try and sell the site for development? As I understand it, you don't have to pay CGT if you are selling off part of your garden. Or is there another way to go about it?

[bd6759]

it doesn't sound like you are selling part of your garden.

[Linda Clayton]

It is part of the garden - not a separately fenced off space - and is within less than half a hectare as per PPR requirements.