Build a new home in your garden in West Sussex

Owners of garage courts, yards and deep gardens in West Sussex have two broad choices: sell the plot, or keep it and build. This page is about the second option.

We handle the appraisal, design, planning, technical approvals, warranty arrangements and construction, and you receive a finished home with its paperwork in order. Each stage is priced and agreed before it begins. If you later decide that funding a build isn’t for you, the same appraisal shows how a sale, an option or a joint venture would compare, so the early work isn’t wasted.

Timber-frame house under construction with scaffolding at the bottom of a back garden, seen from the patio
Nation
England
National planning policy
NPPF
Planning authorities
7
City
Chichester

West Sussex: the planning picture

Beyond the build price, a few charges in West Sussex depend on the council. Community Infrastructure Levy is only payable where an authority has adopted a charging schedule, and anyone hoping for the self-build exemption has to apply before construction begins. Ecology can add requirements too, because biodiversity net gain rules may call for new hedges, trees or wildlife features. Planning and building control fees, the structural warranty and utility connections sit on top. We list each one separately so the written quote shows exactly where the money goes.

Planning authorities covering West Sussex include Adur District Council, Arun District Council, Chichester District Council, Crawley Borough Council, Horsham District Council, Mid Sussex District Council, Worthing Borough Council.

How it works

  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.

  5. 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.

Build in your garden in towns across West Sussex

Questions about build in your garden in West Sussex

What does a garden design and build cost in the West Sussex area?

There’s no standard figure, because cost depends on access, foundations, services, specification and size rather than on the county. Guide price ranges are on our prices page and are guides only. You receive a written quote after design and survey, with fees, warranty, connections and any Community Infrastructure Levy listed separately.

Do you build new homes in gardens across the West Sussex area?

Yes. We offer garden design and build across West Sussex, from the first appraisal to handover. We’re a new brand within the S&K Group, so rather than pointing to past jobs we set out a clear process: a free appraisal, a measured survey and design, a planning application, and a written build quote once the plot’s real costs are known.

What fire safety rules affect a garden house in the West Sussex area?

Building control will look for fire engine access (or other measures, often sprinklers, agreed with building control and the fire service where a fire engine can’t get close enough). On plots reached by a long or narrow drive this often shapes the layout, so we settle the fire strategy during design rather than after planning. Bin storage distances, access width and turning space are checked at the same stage, because each one can move the house.

How much is a garden plot in West Sussex worth?

It depends on location, size, access, title and, above all, planning. Two similar gardens in the same street can be worth very different amounts if one has easy access and the other doesn’t. We don’t quote figures before we’ve looked at a plot properly; the free appraisal is the way to find out.

Other options in West Sussex

Everything we cover in West Sussex

Find out what your garden could become

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