Backland Development
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Build a new home in your garden in Chester-le-Street

Building a second home behind your own in Chester-le-Street 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
Durham County Council
Postcodes
DH2, DH3
Noon sun, 21 March
About 35°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 7.1 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
County Durham

The local picture in Chester-le-Street

Wherever your house sits across DH2 and DH3, 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 Durham County 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 Chester-le-Street: about 35 degrees on 21 March and 12 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 35°, shadow 7.1 m21 Dec, noon: sun 12°, shadow 24.1 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Chester-le-Street on 21 March sits about 35° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 7.1 m. In December the sun is only about 12° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

The next steps, locally

From appraisal to a decision from Durham County Council, each step in Chester-le-Street 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. 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. 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.

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.
  • A build next door means months of noise, deliveries and contractors near your home; good planning reduces the disruption but doesn’t remove it.
  • Building and selling a new home can change your tax position compared with selling only your house; take advice from a tax adviser first.

Questions about garden plots in Chester-le-Street

Will I pay Community Infrastructure Levy on a new home in Chester-le-Street?

Only if Durham County Council has adopted a Community Infrastructure Levy charging schedule; not every council has. Where it applies, it can be charged on a new home of any size. A self-build exemption exists for people building a home to live in, but it must be claimed before work starts, so we check the position at design stage.

Do new homes in Chester-le-Street need a structural warranty?

If the house will ever be sold or mortgaged, in practice yes. Mortgage lenders usually expect a 10-year structural warranty on a new home, though some accept an architect’s or surveyor’s certificate, and a warranty provider inspects the work at stages during the build, so it has to be in place before construction starts. Building control approval is separate and also required; a buyer’s solicitor will ask for both.

Can the new home in my Chester-le-Street 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 Chester-le-Street and keep the land?

Yes. On our design and build route you remain the owner while we design the home, apply to Durham County 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 Chester-le-Street

Build in your garden near Chester-le-Street

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

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