- Planning authority
- Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
- Postcodes
- B37, B40, B91, B92, B93
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Noon sun, 21 December
- About 14°
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- West Midlands
The kinds of plot we look at in Solihull
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 Solihull and nearby places such as Shirley, Birmingham and Smethwick. The free appraisal shows which of these choices are realistic for your land, and what each would involve.
Planning and light in Solihull
Daylight is one of the first things Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council will look at on a garden plot. At midday on 21 March the sun in Solihull sits about 38° 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 Solihull
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
Getting a first view of your plot in Solihull costs nothing. Send us the address through the form, or give us a call, and we’ll check access, size, title and the planning picture from our desk. If it looks promising, we’ll visit, explain the routes that could work and put the main terms in writing before you’re asked to decide anything.
Questions about garden plots in Solihull
Can I team up with my neighbours in Solihull?
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.
Who decides planning for a new home in a garden in Solihull?
The decision is made by Solihull Metropolitan Borough 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.
Do you look at garage courts and yards in Solihull?
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.
How long does a garden plot deal in Solihull 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.