Backland Development
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Build a new home in your garden in Wokingham

Building a second home behind your own in Wokingham is a construction project with one unusual feature: you live beside the site from the first spade to the last coat of paint. That shapes how we plan it, from the fence that separates your garden on day one to where deliveries park.

The route covers everything between an idea and a finished house. We survey and design, prepare and submit the planning application, arrange Building Regulations approval and the structural warranty, organise new water, drainage and electricity connections, and then build. You keep ownership of the land throughout.

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Timber-frame house under construction with scaffolding at the bottom of a back garden, seen from the patio
Planning authority
Wokingham Borough Council
Postcodes
RG40
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.3 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Berkshire

Before you decide in Wokingham

Wherever your house sits across RG40, a new home behind it needs water, power and two kinds of drainage — one for waste, one for rain. We contact the utility providers early, because a long cable run, a sewer at the wrong depth or a public pipe under the lawn can change both the layout and the cost.

Rain from the new roof and drive has to be dealt with on site, and Wokingham Borough Council will want to see how. Where a public sewer crosses your garden, the water company may also need a build-over agreement before work starts, so we check sewer records at appraisal stage.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Wokingham: 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 18.5 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Wokingham on 21 March sits about 39° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.3 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.

The next steps, locally

If your Wokingham plot already has planning permission, we begin by checking the approved drawings and conditions against the site. Some permissions need detailed design, discharge of conditions or a minor amendment before they can be built. We then prepare the technical drawings, arrange Building Regulations approval and the warranty, apply for utility connections and give you a written quote to build.

  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. Planning and approvals

    We submit the planning application and manage it to a decision, then deal with conditions, Building Regulations approval, the structural warranty, any build-over agreement and the new utility connections.

  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

  • 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.
  • Building and selling a new home can change your tax position compared with selling only your house; take advice from a tax adviser first.
  • You fund the build and carry the cost risk; ground conditions, sewer diversions or supply upgrades found later can move the price.

Wokingham: questions to ask

Can I build a house in my Wokingham garden and then sell it?

Yes. You keep the land while the home is built, then sell the finished house. Before building starts, the plot should be given its own title through a transfer of part at HM Land Registry, and if your house is mortgaged your lender must agree to release the plot. Selling a home you’ve built can change your tax position, so take advice from a tax adviser first.

Do you visit gardens in Wokingham 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.

Can the new home in my Wokingham garden connect to the main sewer?

Usually, yes, but the route and depth decide how easily. The new home needs its own foul connection, agreed with the water company, and gravity drainage is simplest where the sewer sits lower than the new floor. If it doesn’t, a pumped connection may be needed. Where a public sewer runs under your garden, a build-over agreement or diversion may also be required.

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

Yes. On our design and build route you remain the owner while we design the home, apply to Wokingham Borough 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.

Other options in Wokingham

Build in your garden near Wokingham

Find out what your garden could become

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

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