Backland Development
0800 088 6248Free to call Free plot appraisal

Build a home for family in your garden in Wokingham

For grown-up children in Wokingham, the step to a first home can be a long one. If your garden is big enough, a small separate house on part of it could become theirs: with its own planning permission and title, it can be mortgaged in their name and sold when they move on.

That asks more of the plot than an annexe does, including its own garden, parking and an access Wokingham Borough Council will accept. We look at all of that in a free plot appraisal, then design and build the home if the scheme stacks up and you want to go ahead.

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Single-storey garden home with wide glazed doors and a covered porch at the back of a family garden
Planning authority
Wokingham Borough Council
Postcodes
RG40
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.3 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Berkshire

What the council will look at in Wokingham

Daylight matters twice over when the new home is for a relative who spends much of the day indoors. At noon on 21 March the sun in Wokingham is about 39° above the horizon, so a two-storey eaves line around 5 m high casts a shadow of roughly 6.3 m. A single-storey annexe with eaves at half that height casts one about half as long, which is one reason low buildings often sit more easily in a garden. By late December the midday sun climbs only about 15°, so we test winter light on both homes, and on next-door gardens, before the layout is fixed.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Wokingham: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.3 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 18.5 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Wokingham: around 39° 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

From first call to keys, a family home in Wokingham follows a clear order. Free appraisal and site visit; measured survey and design around the person moving in; a planning application to Wokingham Borough Council; approval under the Building Regulations and any CIL exemption claimed before work starts; then the build, with you living next door throughout. You receive a written quote after design and survey, and we keep the household updated at each stage.

  1. Free plot appraisal

    We look at your plot, access and the planning picture from the desk, talk through who will live in the new home, and visit if it looks viable. There’s no cost and no obligation.

  2. Annexe or separate home

    We set out both routes for your plot, covering what each means for planning, ownership, council tax, CIL and VAT, so you can decide with your family and advisers before design starts.

  3. Survey and design

    A measured survey, then a design built around the person moving in: step-free routes, a ground-floor bedroom if needed and privacy for both households. You get a written quote after design and survey.

  4. Build and handover

    We build while you carry on living next door, with access, deliveries and working hours agreed up front. At handover you get the completion certificate and the paperwork you’ll need for council tax, lenders and any VAT claim.

Worth checking early

  • An annexe tied by planning condition usually can’t be sold or let separately, which limits flexibility later.
  • CIL exemptions are lost if work starts before the claim is made, and can be withdrawn if the home is sold or let within three years.
  • Family plans change: agree ownership, costs and what happens if circumstances change in writing, with a solicitor.

Wokingham: questions to ask

Who owns an annexe built in my Wokingham garden?

You do. An annexe stays on the title of your house and usually carries a planning condition tying it to the main home, so it can’t be transferred to the relative living in it. If a family member is paying towards it, record what they’ve put in and what happens on a sale in a written agreement drawn up by a solicitor.

How much garden do I need for a family home in Wokingham?

There’s no fixed figure. A single-storey annexe close to the house can work on a smaller plot than a separate dwelling, which needs its own garden, parking and access. What matters is whether Wokingham Borough Council can be satisfied on privacy, daylight and the space left for both homes. The free appraisal gives you a first view based on your plot’s actual shape and access.

Can you design a home in Wokingham for a relative who uses a wheelchair?

Yes. The design can include a level approach and threshold, turning space in each room, a wet room, wider doors and worktops at a usable height. Where Wokingham Borough Council requires a particular access standard through planning, the design meets it; otherwise it’s your choice how far to go. Input from your relative’s occupational therapist is well worth having.

Is CIL payable on a family home in Wokingham?

Only if Wokingham Borough Council has adopted the Community Infrastructure Levy, which its website will confirm, and we check it for you during the appraisal. Where it applies, self-build and residential annexe exemptions exist, but both must be claimed before work starts and can be withdrawn if the home is sold or let within three years of completion.

Other options in Wokingham

Family home in your garden near Wokingham

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