- Planning authority
- Chelmsford City Council
- Postcodes
- CM1, CM2
- 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 Chelmsford
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 Chelmsford and nearby places such as Billericay, Witham and Maldon. The free appraisal shows which of these choices are realistic for your land, and what each would involve.
Planning and light in Chelmsford
Daylight is one of the first things Chelmsford City Council will look at on a garden plot. At midday on 21 March the sun in Chelmsford sits about 38° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line around 5 metres high throws a shadow of roughly 6.3 m. On 21 December the midday sun is only about 15° up and shadows are far longer. That’s why the gap between the existing house and the new one, and the height of the new roof, matter so much. We test layouts against the council’s Local Plan and any daylight guidance it publishes before anything is submitted.
What we can do in Chelmsford
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 Chelmsford. 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 Chelmsford
Can you build a house in my back garden in Chelmsford 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 do you stop a new home in Chelmsford overshadowing the neighbours?
By testing the layout against the sun and the council’s guidance. At midday on 21 March the sun in Chelmsford 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.
What happens if planning is refused for a plot in Chelmsford?
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 Chelmsford City Council gave and tell you honestly whether a revised application, an appeal or stopping is the sensible choice. Nothing about your own house changes.
Who decides planning for a new home in a garden in Chelmsford?
The decision is made by Chelmsford City 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.