Backland Development
0800 088 6248Free to call Free plot appraisal

Build a new home in your garden in Swansea

If you own a house in Swansea 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 City and County of Swansea 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.

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Timber-frame house under construction with scaffolding at the bottom of a back garden, seen from the patio
Planning authority
City and County of Swansea
Postcodes
SA1, SA2, SA5
Noon sun, 21 March
About 38°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.3 m
Planning plan
LDP
County
West Glamorgan

What the council will look at in Swansea

In Swansea, applications for a new home in a garden are decided by the City and County of Swansea, which weighs them against the council’s Local Development Plan (LDP) and national policy. Officers look at access, privacy, daylight, parking, bins, drainage and how much garden is left for each house, and neighbours can comment during consultation.

We read the local policies and any design guidance before drawing a line, and check the planning history of nearby plots for decisions that show how the council has applied them. If the policy picture is uncertain, pre-application advice lets us test the scheme with officers before the formal application goes in.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Swansea: 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 18.7 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Swansea: 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.

From first call to decision

Getting started in Swansea 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

  • A build next door means months of noise, deliveries and contractors near your home; good planning reduces the disruption but doesn’t remove it.
  • You fund the build and carry the cost risk; ground conditions, sewer diversions or supply upgrades found later can move the price.
  • 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 questions, answered for Swansea

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

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 City and County of Swansea decides. Window positions, ground levels, roof shape and screening all affect what is acceptable, which is why we survey before we design.

Can I build a house in my garden in Swansea and keep the land?

Yes. On our design and build route you remain the owner while we design the home, apply to the City and County of Swansea 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.

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

Who decides planning for a garden house in Swansea?

The City and County of Swansea decides applications for addresses in Swansea, using the council’s Local Development Plan (LDP), national policy and its own design guidance. Neighbours and consultees such as highways officers can comment, and the decision is made by the council’s planning officers or, where the rules allow, its planning committee. Pre-application advice from the council can help test a scheme before the formal application is submitted.

Other options in Swansea

Build in your garden near Swansea

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