Build a new home in your garden in Brecon

Keep the land, gain a home: that is the design and build route we offer to garden owners in Brecon. Instead of selling a plot to a developer, you commission the new house yourself, with us managing design, planning, approvals and construction on your behalf.

It suits owners who can fund a build, or arrange finance for one, and who want the finished home rather than a land sale. If that isn’t you, our sell-or-partner routes may fit better, and the free appraisal compares both for your plot so you can choose with the facts in front of you.

Timber-frame house under construction with scaffolding at the bottom of a back garden, seen from the patio
Planning authority
Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority
Postcodes
LD3
Noon sun, 21 March
About 38°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.4 m
Planning plan
LDP
County
Powys

Before you decide in Brecon

Daylight is one of the first things Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority will check on a garden house. At midday on 21 March the sun in Brecon stands roughly 38° above the horizon, so an eaves line about 5 m high casts a shadow of around 6.4 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 Brecon: 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 19.2 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Brecon: 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.

The next steps, locally

Getting started in Brecon takes one step from you: send your address and a few photos of the garden, or call us. We check the title plan, access and planning constraints from our desk, then talk the plot through. If it looks viable we arrange a visit, discuss whether you want to sell, let or keep the new home, and set out the survey and design stage in writing before you commit.

  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. 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.

  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.
  • 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 own garden gets smaller and the new home will be visible from your house, so screening and separation matter for both homes.

Questions about garden plots in Brecon

Can I build a house in my Brecon 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 Brecon 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 Brecon?

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 Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority decides. Window positions, ground levels, roof shape and screening all affect what is acceptable, which is why we survey before we design.

Do new homes in Brecon 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 Brecon

Build in your garden near Brecon

Find out what your garden could become

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