Backland development in Herne Bay

Selling part of your garden and building on it yourself are very different things, and owners in Herne Bay 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 town like Herne Bay 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
Canterbury City Council
Postcodes
CT6
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 Herne Bay

The classic garden plot is a long back garden with enough width beside the house for a driveway. If you have one in Herne Bay, that’s a good starting point, but it isn’t the only kind we consider. Corner plots and wide side gardens can work well because they often face a road already. Garage courts and yards behind houses may have access in place. Even land with no obvious way in can sometimes work, if a neighbour’s garden or a shared drive can provide one.

Planning and light in Herne Bay

Daylight is one of the first things Canterbury City Council will look at on a garden plot. At midday on 21 March the sun in Herne Bay sits about 39° 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.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Herne Bay: 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
This section is worked out for the latitude of Herne Bay: around 39° of sun at midday in late March and about 15° at midwinter. It shows why the gap between your house and a new home behind it is about light as well as privacy. Garden assumed to face north.

What we can do in Herne Bay

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 Herne Bay 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 Herne Bay

Who decides planning for a new home in a garden in Herne Bay?

The decision is made by Canterbury 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.

What happens if planning is refused for a plot in Herne Bay?

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 Canterbury 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.

Can I sell part of my garden in Herne Bay?

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

Is there a charge for assessing my plot in Herne Bay?

No. The garden plot appraisal is free and carries no obligation. We do a desktop check of access, size, title and the planning picture, talk it through with you and arrange a site visit if it looks viable. You can stop at any point without owing anything.

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.