- Planning authority
- Leicester City Council
- Postcodes
- LE1, LE2, LE3, LE4, LE5
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 37°
- Noon sun, 21 December
- About 14°
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Leicestershire
The kinds of plot we look at in Leicester
Land that’s hard to reach isn’t automatically a lost cause. In Leicester, 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 Leicester
Daylight is one of the first things Leicester City Council will look at on a garden plot. At midday on 21 March the sun in Leicester sits about 37° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line around 5 metres high throws a shadow of roughly 6.5 m. On 21 December the midday sun is only about 14° 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 Leicester
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 Leicester. 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 Leicester
Who decides planning for a new home in a garden in Leicester?
The decision is made by Leicester 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.
Is there a charge for assessing my plot in Leicester?
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.
Can I sell part of my garden in Leicester?
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 Leicester City Council grants permission. If planning is refused on a conditional sale, you keep your land.
What happens if planning is refused for a plot in Leicester?
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 Leicester 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.