Backland Development
0800 088 6248Free to call Free plot appraisal

Build a new home in your garden in Emsworth

For a garden in Emsworth to take a new house, three things have to line up: a safe way in, enough space to keep both homes private and light, and services that can reach the plot at sensible cost. Our free appraisal looks at all three before you spend anything.

If they line up, we move on to a measured survey, design and, where useful, pre-application advice from Havant Borough Council. Planning permission is the council’s decision, so the design is shaped around the tests its officers apply rather than the largest house the plot could possibly hold.

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Timber-frame house under construction with scaffolding at the bottom of a back garden, seen from the patio
Planning authority
Havant Borough Council
Postcodes
PO10
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.1 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Hampshire

What shapes a plot in Emsworth

Construction on a Emsworth garden plot runs to a programme agreed once Havant Borough Council has issued permission and any pre-commencement conditions have been dealt with. Groundworks and foundations come first; the shell and roof follow, then glazing, internal trades and, last of all, the drive and planting.

Weather matters. Around 21 December the sun in Emsworth climbs to only about 16° at midday, so winter days are short and wet ground slows the work. Where we can, we order the job so the house is weathertight before the worst months arrive.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Emsworth: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 16 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.1 m21 Dec, noon: sun 16°, shadow 17.8 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Emsworth on 21 March sits about 39° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.1 m. In December the sun is only about 16° 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 Emsworth 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. 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

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

Your questions, answered for Emsworth

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

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 Havant Borough Council decides. Window positions, ground levels, roof shape and screening all affect what is acceptable, which is why we survey before we design.

Can the new home in my Emsworth 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 Emsworth and keep the land?

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

Do new homes in Emsworth 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.

Other options in Emsworth

Build in your garden near Emsworth

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