Backland Development
0800 088 6248Free to call Free plot appraisal

Build a new home in your garden in Houghton Regis

If you own a house in Houghton Regis with a long or wide garden, you don’t have to sell the land to benefit from it. We can design a separate new home for the plot, apply to Central Bedfordshire Council for planning permission, and build it while you carry on living next door.

When it’s finished, the house is yours to sell, let or keep for family. As a new name in the S&K Group we don’t trade on past jobs; every project starts the same way: a free, no-obligation appraisal of your garden, then a measured survey and design, then a written quote once the real costs are known.

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Timber-frame house under construction with scaffolding at the bottom of a back garden, seen from the patio
Planning authority
Central Bedfordshire Council
Postcodes
LU4, LU5
Noon sun, 21 March
About 38°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.4 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Bedfordshire

Before you decide in Houghton Regis

Access is where a garden plot anywhere in LU4 and LU5 tends to succeed or fail. A new drive needs enough width for cars, clear visibility where it meets the road, and enough distance from neighbouring windows to keep noise and headlights in check.

Policies in the council’s Local Plan, along with any highways advice the council receives, decide the detail for your address. We measure the gap beside your house on the first visit, and if it’s too tight for a home that can be approved and built safely, we’ll tell you before any design fees are spent.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Houghton Regis: about 38 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 38°, shadow 6.4 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 19.1 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Houghton Regis on 21 March sits about 38° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.4 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 happens next in Houghton Regis

From appraisal to a decision from Central Bedfordshire Council, each step in Houghton Regis is agreed before it starts. After the site visit we quote for survey and design; after design we prepare the application; after permission we deal with conditions and technical approvals and give you a written build quote. Each stage is a separate decision for you, with its cost set out first.

  1. Free plot appraisal

    We check the title plan, access, constraints and planning policy from our desk, talk the plot through with you, and visit if it looks viable. There’s no cost and no obligation.

  2. Survey and design

    A measured survey records levels, boundaries, trees and neighbouring windows. We then design a layout and house that suit the plot, the street and your budget, and decide whether pre-application advice is worth seeking.

  3. Written quote and build

    Once design and survey are complete you get a written quote. The build runs in stages — access and groundworks, foundations, frame and roof, fit-out and external works — with inspections at each key point.

  4. Handover

    You receive the completion certificate, warranty documents, Energy Performance Certificate, manuals and utility details, so the new home is ready to move into, let or put on the market.

Worth checking early

  • Your own garden gets smaller and the new home will be visible from your house, so screening and separation matter for both homes.
  • You fund the build and carry the cost risk; ground conditions, sewer diversions or supply upgrades found later can move the price.
  • Planning can be refused, and money spent on surveys, design and the application isn’t recovered if it is — which is why we start with an appraisal.

Your questions, answered for Houghton Regis

How long does planning take for a new home in a Houghton Regis garden?

The statutory period for deciding a minor application, such as a single new home, is 8 weeks from the date the council receives a valid application, in both England and Wales. In practice many applications take longer, and the council may ask you to agree an extension in writing. Surveys and design before submission add time, and conditions may need approving afterwards.

Can I build a house in my garden in Houghton Regis and keep the land?

Yes. On our design and build route you remain the owner while we design the home, apply to Central Bedfordshire Council for planning, deal with Building Regulations and build it. The finished house can be sold, let or kept for family. Whether your plot can take a house depends on access, space, neighbours and local policy, and the decision rests with the council.

Do you visit gardens in Houghton Regis before giving advice?

We start with a desk review of the title plan, access, constraints and planning policy, then talk the plot through with you. If it looks viable, we arrange a site visit to see the access, levels, trees and neighbouring windows for ourselves. The appraisal is free and carries no obligation.

How close can a new house be to my own in Houghton Regis?

There’s no single national distance. Many councils use separation guides of around 21 metres between facing back windows and around 12 to 15 metres between a back window and a blank side wall, but the guidance used by Central Bedfordshire Council decides. Window positions, ground levels, roof shape and screening all affect what is acceptable, which is why we survey before we design.

Other options in Houghton Regis

Build in your garden near Houghton Regis

Find out what your garden could become

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

Get my free appraisal 0800 088 6248