- Planning authority
- BCP Council
- Postcodes
- BH23
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Noon sun, 21 December
- About 16°
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Dorset
The kinds of plot we look at in Christchurch
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 Christchurch and nearby places such as Bournemouth, New Milton and Ferndown. The free appraisal shows which of these choices are realistic for your land, and what each would involve.
Planning and light in Christchurch
Planning applications for new homes in gardens in Christchurch are decided by BCP 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 BCP Council’s own guidance decides. We prepare the application with care; the decision is always the council’s.
What we can do in Christchurch
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
When you’re ready, tell us about your land in Christchurch. A few photos help but aren’t essential. We’ll come back with a straight view of whether the plot could take a new home and which routes might suit you, from a sale to design and build. If it’s not a good fit, we’ll say so, and there’s nothing to pay either way.
Questions about garden plots in Christchurch
How do you stop a new home in Christchurch overshadowing the neighbours?
By testing the layout against the sun and the council’s guidance. At midday on 21 March the sun in Christchurch is about 39° up, so a 5 m eaves line casts a shadow of roughly 6.1 m; in December it is far lower. Spacing, roof height, orientation and single-storey designs all help keep light where it belongs.
Who decides planning for a new home in a garden in Christchurch?
The decision is made by BCP 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.
Do you look at garage courts and yards in Christchurch?
Yes. Garage courts, lock-up blocks, old yards and outbuildings behind houses can sometimes take a new home, especially where a vehicle access already exists. We check who owns the access, what rights others have over it and what the ground was used for, as part of the free appraisal.
Can I sell part of my garden in Christchurch?
Often, yes, if the plot is big enough, has a workable access and stands a reasonable chance of planning. We buy suitable plots directly, with or without planning, subject to survey, title and contract, or agree a sale that only completes if BCP Council grants permission. If planning is refused on a conditional sale, you keep your land.