- Planning authority
- Colchester City Council
- Postcodes
- CO1, CO2, CO3, CO4
- 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 Colchester
Sometimes the plot that works isn’t a single garden at all. Two or three adjoining back gardens in Colchester can often be combined into one scheme with one shared access, giving a better layout than any of them alone. Each owner keeps their house, and a collaboration agreement with an equalisation clause shares the value fairly. If your own garden is too narrow or too short to work on its own, it’s worth asking whether the neighbours might be interested too.
Planning and light in Colchester
Planning applications for new homes in gardens in Colchester are decided by Colchester City 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 Colchester City Council’s own guidance decides. We prepare the application with care; the decision is always the council’s.
What we can do in Colchester
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
If you’d like to talk it through first, call us. There’s no script and no hard sell. We’ll ask a few questions about your plot in Colchester, explain how the free appraisal works and answer what we can on the spot. If it makes sense to go further, we’ll agree the next step together; if it doesn’t, you’ve lost nothing.
Questions about garden plots in Colchester
Do you look at garage courts and yards in Colchester?
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 team up with my neighbours in Colchester?
Yes, and it can make a weak plot workable. Combining adjoining gardens can allow one shared access and a better layout. Each owner keeps their house, and a collaboration agreement sets out decisions, costs and how value is shared through equalisation. Every household should have its own solicitor.
What happens if planning is refused for a plot in Colchester?
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 Colchester 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.
How long does a garden plot deal in Colchester usually take?
It depends on the route. A sale of a plot that already has planning moves at the pace of the solicitors and your lender. Routes that need planning usually take many months, because of surveys, design, the council’s decision period and any amendments. Design and build usually takes well over a year in total.