Backland Development
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Build a home for family in your garden in Bodmin

If you have a long or wide garden in Bodmin, there may be room for a home where a parent or grown-up child can live close by with their own front door. That might mean an annexe used with your house, or a home that stands alone with permission and paperwork of its own.

Cornwall Council decides either way, so the first step is to find out what your plot can realistically carry. Our free plot appraisal covers access, space, privacy and the main planning constraints, and talks through who the home is for, before you spend any money on drawings.

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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
Cornwall Council
Postcodes
PL31
Noon sun, 21 March
About 40°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.1 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Cornwall

Bodmin: light, access and policy

Access usually decides what a Bodmin garden can take. An annexe can often share your drive because it is used with the house, but a separate home needs an access Cornwall Council will accept for a dwelling in its own right, with room for cars, bin collection and emergency vehicles. We cover homes in Bodmin and around St Austell, Newquay and Truro, and on every plot we measure the drive width, the view along the road where the access joins it, and how far bins would need to travel, before anyone draws a plan.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Bodmin: about 40 degrees on 21 March and 16 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 40°, shadow 6.1 m21 Dec, noon: sun 16°, shadow 17.3 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Bodmin on 21 March sits about 40° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.1 m. In December the sun is only about 16° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

From first call to decision

From first call to keys, a family home in Bodmin follows a clear order. Free appraisal and site visit; measured survey and design around the person moving in; a planning application to Cornwall 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. Planning and approvals

    We prepare and submit the planning application and manage it with the council, which makes the decision. Before work starts, approval under the Building Regulations is in place and any CIL exemption has been claimed.

Worth checking early

  • VAT savings available on a separate dwelling often don’t apply to an annexe; take advice from a tax adviser before choosing.
  • An annexe tied by planning condition usually can’t be sold or let separately, which limits flexibility later.
  • Planning is the council’s decision, and an annexe is not a way round the rules that apply to a new house.

Bodmin: questions to ask

Who owns an annexe built in my Bodmin 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.

Will an annexe in Bodmin put up my council tax?

It might. Annexes can be banded separately, but exemptions exist for annexes lived in by certain dependent relatives, and in some cases a discount applies where family live there or the annexe is used as part of the main home. Who qualifies depends on the relative’s circumstances and how the annexe is used. Cornwall Council’s council tax team can tell you how the rules apply to your household.

Can I build a separate house in my Bodmin garden for my son or daughter?

Possibly, if the plot can work as a home in its own right. Cornwall Council will look at access, parking, garden space for both houses, privacy and the character of the street, as it would for any new house. If permission is granted, the plot can be transferred to your child with its own title, with your lender’s consent if the house is mortgaged.

Can you design a home in Bodmin 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 Cornwall 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.

Other options in Bodmin

Family home in your garden near Bodmin

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