- Planning authority
- Durham County Council
- Postcodes
- DH1
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 35°
- Noon sun, 21 December
- About 12°
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- County Durham
The kinds of plot we look at in Durham
A bungalow on a big plot gives you more choices than most homes. You might keep the bungalow and build a new home beside or behind it, or replace it with two or more homes if the council would support that. We also look at long back gardens, corner plots, garage courts, yards and land with tricky access across Durham and nearby places such as Spennymoor, Chester-le-Street and Stanley. The free appraisal shows which of these choices are realistic for your land, and what each would involve.
Planning and light in Durham
Small planning applications in Durham are usually decided by planning officers at Durham County Council under delegated powers, and national and council rules set out when, if ever, one goes to a planning committee instead. Either way, the application is judged on material considerations such as overlooking, daylight, highway safety and design, not on loss of a view or property values. A well-evidenced application that clearly addresses the policies in the council’s Local Plan gives your plot the fairest hearing. We prepare it with you and keep you informed; the decision rests with the council.
What we can do in Durham
Sell or partner
- Sell part of your garden
- Sell subject to planning
- Garden plot option agreement
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
Design and build
- Build a new home in your garden
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Plot feasibility and design
By plot type
- Large rear gardens
- Corner and side plots
- Garage courts and yards
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Bungalows on large plots
What happens next
The next step is simple. Use the form or call us with your Durham address and, if you can, a rough idea of the garden’s length, width and how a vehicle might reach it. We’ll do a desktop check, talk it through with you and arrange a site visit if the plot looks viable. There’s no cost and no obligation.
Questions about garden plots in Durham
Can you build a house in my back garden in Durham that I keep?
Yes. Our design and build route covers the survey, design, planning application, Building Regulations, construction and handover, while the land and the new home stay yours. You can sell it, let it or use it for family. You’ll get a written quote once the design and survey are done, and any earlier price range is a guide only.
How much is my garden plot in Durham worth?
There’s no honest figure without looking at the plot. Value depends on location, size, access, title and planning, and costs such as a long drive or difficult ground come straight off what the land is worth. Our free appraisal looks at all of that before we talk about price.
Who decides planning for a new home in a garden in Durham?
The decision is made by Durham County Council, using the council’s Local Plan, the NPPF and its own design guidance. Small schemes are usually decided by planning officers, and national and council rules set out when one can go to a planning committee instead. We prepare and submit the application and answer the council’s questions, but we can’t promise the outcome.
How do you stop a new home in Durham overshadowing the neighbours?
By testing the layout against the sun and the council’s guidance. At midday on 21 March the sun in Durham is about 35° up, so a 5 m eaves line casts a shadow of roughly 7.1 m; in December it is far lower. Spacing, roof height, orientation and single-storey designs all help keep light where it belongs.