- Planning authority
- Dorset Council
- Postcodes
- DT3, DT4
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.1 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Dorset
Before you decide in Weymouth
We cover gardens in Weymouth and nearby places such as Portland, Dorchester and Poole, with the same process wherever you are: a free desktop appraisal, a visit if the plot looks viable, then survey and design.
Some of those places may fall under a different council from Dorset Council, and each local planning authority has its own design guidance, validation list and pre-application service. We confirm which authority covers your address at the start, so the application is prepared for the right requirements first time and avoids delays at validation.
The next steps, locally
From appraisal to a decision from Dorset Council, each step in Weymouth 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.
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.
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.
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.
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
- A build next door means months of noise, deliveries and contractors near your home; good planning reduces the disruption but doesn’t remove it.
- 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.
Weymouth: questions to ask
Can I build a house in my Weymouth 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 new homes in Weymouth 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 I build a house in my garden in Weymouth and keep the land?
Yes. On our design and build route you remain the owner while we design the home, apply to Dorset 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.
Will I pay Community Infrastructure Levy on a new home in Weymouth?
Only if Dorset 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.
Other options in Weymouth
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Large rear gardens
- Plot feasibility and design
- Sell subject to planning