Backland development in Gillingham

Selling part of your garden and building on it yourself are very different things, and owners in Gillingham can do either with us. Selling means you receive money for the plot and the new home belongs to someone else. Building means you keep the land, take on the cost and end up with a new home of your own.

Between those two sit options, planning promotion and joint ventures, where you share more of the outcome without managing the build yourself. A large town like Gillingham can have very different plots from one street to the next, so the free garden plot appraisal is where we start. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing.

Planning authority
Medway Council
Postcodes
ME3, ME4, ME7, ME8
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Noon sun, 21 December
About 15°
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Kent

The kinds of plot we look at in Gillingham

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

The rules for a new home in Gillingham come from three levels. Nationally there is the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Locally, the council’s Local Plan sets the policies Medway 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.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Gillingham: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.3 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 18.4 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Gillingham on 21 March sits about 39° 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 Gillingham

Sell or partner

Design and build

By plot type

What happens next

The next step is simple. Use the form or call us with your Gillingham address and, if you can, a rough idea of the garden’s length, width and how a vehicle might reach it. We’ll do a desktop check, talk it through with you and arrange a site visit if the plot looks viable. There’s no cost and no obligation.

Questions about garden plots in Gillingham

Who decides planning for a new home in a garden in Gillingham?

The decision is made by Medway 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.

Can I sell part of my garden in Gillingham?

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

How much is my garden plot in Gillingham worth?

There’s no honest figure without looking at the plot. Value depends on location, size, access, title and planning, and costs such as a long drive or difficult ground come straight off what the land is worth. Our free appraisal looks at all of that before we talk about price.

Can you build a house in my back garden in Gillingham 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.

Nearby

Find out what your garden could become

Free garden plot appraisal. No cost, no obligation, and a straight answer if it won’t work.