- Planning authority
- Mole Valley District Council
- Postcodes
- KT18, KT21, KT22, KT23
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Noon sun, 21 December
- About 15°
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Surrey
The kinds of plot we look at in Leatherhead
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 Leatherhead and nearby places such as Epsom, Cobham and Dorking. The free appraisal shows which of these choices are realistic for your land, and what each would involve.
Planning and light in Leatherhead
Daylight is one of the first things Mole Valley District Council will look at on a garden plot. At midday on 21 March the sun in Leatherhead sits about 39° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line around 5 metres high throws a shadow of roughly 6.2 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 Leatherhead
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 Leatherhead. 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 Leatherhead
Do you look at garage courts and yards in Leatherhead?
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.
Who decides planning for a new home in a garden in Leatherhead?
The decision is made by Mole Valley District 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 Leatherhead?
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.
How do you stop a new home in Leatherhead overshadowing the neighbours?
By testing the layout against the sun and the council’s guidance. At midday on 21 March the sun in Leatherhead is about 39° up, so a 5 m eaves line casts a shadow of roughly 6.2 m; in December it is far lower. Spacing, roof height, orientation and single-storey designs all help keep light where it belongs.