Backland Development
0800 088 6248Free to call Free plot appraisal

Build a new home in your garden in Barking and Dagenham

If you own a house in Barking and Dagenham 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 the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham 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.

Get a free appraisalCheck my garden
Timber-frame house under construction with scaffolding at the bottom of a back garden, seen from the patio
Planning authority
London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
Postcodes
IG11, RM6, RM7, RM8, RM9
Noon sun, 21 March
About 38°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.3 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Greater London

Before you decide in Barking and Dagenham

Daylight is one of the first things the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham will check on a garden house. At midday on 21 March the sun in Barking and Dagenham stands roughly 38° above the horizon, so an eaves line about 5 m high casts a shadow of around 6.3 m. On 21 December the sun is only about 15° up and shadows stretch far longer.

That’s why the gap between your house and the new one, and the height of the new roof, are set by measurement rather than guesswork. A lower eaves line, a hipped roof or a single-storey section can make a real difference to the gardens either side.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Barking and Dagenham: about 38 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 38°, shadow 6.3 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 18.6 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Barking and Dagenham on 21 March sits about 38° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.3 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

Once you ask for an appraisal of your Barking and Dagenham garden, we start with the paperwork: the title plan, any covenants, flood maps, tree and conservation designations, and planning decisions on nearby plots. A short call follows, then a site visit if the plot passes the desk check. You get our straight view of what’s realistic and what happens next, with no obligation to go further.

  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

  • 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 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.

Your questions, answered for Barking and Dagenham

Will I pay Community Infrastructure Levy on a new home in Barking and Dagenham?

Only if the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham 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.

Can I build a house in my Barking and Dagenham 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.

How long does planning take for a new home in a Barking and Dagenham 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.

How close can a new house be to my own in Barking and Dagenham?

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 the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham 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 Barking and Dagenham

Build in your garden near Barking and Dagenham

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