- Planning authority
- Cumberland Council
- Postcodes
- CA28
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 35°
- Noon sun, 21 December
- About 12°
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Cumbria
The kinds of plot we look at in Whitehaven
Land that’s hard to reach isn’t automatically a lost cause. In Whitehaven, as anywhere, a plot behind houses with narrow, shared or no access can sometimes be opened up by combining it with a neighbour’s garden, using an existing shared drive, or buying the strip of land that controls the way in. Ransom strips and rights of way need careful legal checks, and the council will look hard at a tandem layout where one house sits directly behind another. We’ll tell you honestly whether the access problem can be solved.
Planning and light in Whitehaven
Planning applications for new homes in gardens in Whitehaven are decided by Cumberland Council. Its decisions follow the council’s Local Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Officers usually focus on access, privacy, daylight, the character of the street and the garden left for both homes. Many councils use separation guides of around 21 metres between facing back windows and around 12 to 15 metres between a back window and a blank side wall, but Cumberland Council’s own guidance decides. We prepare the application with care; the decision is always the council’s.
What we can do in Whitehaven
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
Getting a first view of your plot in Whitehaven costs nothing. Send us the address through the form, or give us a call, and we’ll check access, size, title and the planning picture from our desk. If it looks promising, we’ll visit, explain the routes that could work and put the main terms in writing before you’re asked to decide anything.
Questions about garden plots in Whitehaven
Who decides planning for a new home in a garden in Whitehaven?
The decision is made by Cumberland 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.
Is there a charge for assessing my plot in Whitehaven?
No. The garden plot appraisal is free and carries no obligation. We do a desktop check of access, size, title and the planning picture, talk it through with you and arrange a site visit if it looks viable. You can stop at any point without owing anything.
How do you stop a new home in Whitehaven overshadowing the neighbours?
By testing the layout against the sun and the council’s guidance. At midday on 21 March the sun in Whitehaven is about 35° up, so a 5 m eaves line casts a shadow of roughly 7.0 m; in December it is far lower. Spacing, roof height, orientation and single-storey designs all help keep light where it belongs.
What happens if planning is refused for a plot in Whitehaven?
If you agreed a sale subject to planning, the contract doesn’t complete and you keep your land. We’ll then look at the reasons Cumberland Council gave and tell you honestly whether a revised application, an appeal or stopping is the sensible choice. Nothing about your own house changes.