Garden Plots and New Homes in Billericay

Planning authority: Basildon Borough Council
Postcodes: CM11, CM12
Noon sun, 21 March: About 38°
Noon sun, 21 December: About 15°
Planning plan: Local Plan
County: Essex

The kinds of plot we look at in Billericay

Land that’s hard to reach isn’t automatically a lost cause. In Billericay, 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 Billericay

The rules for a new home in Billericay come from three levels. Nationally there is the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Locally, the council’s Local Plan sets the policies Basildon Borough Council applies, alongside its own guidance on design, parking and gardens. Then the build itself must meet the Building Regulations. That brings in practical matters such as fire engine access (or other measures, often sprinklers, agreed with building control and the fire service where a fire engine can’t get close enough), and rainwater drainage usually calls for a drainage plan the council will want to see. Any purchase of the plot falls under Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). We work through each level for your plot at the start, so there are fewer late surprises once the planning application is under way.

Noon sun in Billericay on 21 March sits about 38° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.3 m. In December the sun is only about 15° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

What we can do in Billericay

Sell or partner

Design and build

By plot type

What happens next

Getting a first view of your plot in Billericay 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 Billericay

Do you look at garage courts and yards in Billericay?

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 Billericay?

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 Basildon Borough Council grants permission. If planning is refused on a conditional sale, you keep your land.

How do you stop a new home in Billericay overshadowing the neighbours?

By testing the layout against the sun and the council’s guidance. At midday on 21 March the sun in Billericay is about 38° up, so a 5 m eaves line casts a shadow of roughly 6.3 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 Billericay?

The decision is made by Basildon Borough 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.

Backland development in Billericay