Backland Development
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Build a new home in your garden in Harpenden

Building a second home behind your own in Harpenden 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
St Albans City and District Council
Postcodes
AL3, AL5
Noon sun, 21 March
About 38°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.4 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Hertfordshire

Before you decide in Harpenden

Construction on a Harpenden garden plot runs to a programme agreed once St Albans City and District 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 Harpenden climbs to only about 15° 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 Harpenden: about 38 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 38°, shadow 6.4 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 19.0 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Harpenden: around 38° of sun at midday in late March and about 15° at midwinter. It shows why the gap between your house and a new home behind it is about light as well as privacy. Garden assumed to face north.

What happens next in Harpenden

Once you ask for an appraisal of your Harpenden 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

  • 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.

Harpenden: questions to ask

How long does planning take for a new home in a Harpenden 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.

Do you visit gardens in Harpenden 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.

Will I pay Community Infrastructure Levy on a new home in Harpenden?

Only if St Albans City and District 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.

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

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 St Albans City and District Council 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 Harpenden

Build in your garden near Harpenden

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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