- Planning authority
- Derby City Council
- Postcodes
- DE1, DE3, DE23, DE24
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 37°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.6 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Derbyshire
Before you decide in Derby
Derby City Council will judge a family home against the council’s Local Plan and any guidance it has adopted on garden development and annexes. Some councils spell out how closely an annexe must relate to the main house, such as sharing the drive, garden or parking, and what turns a building into a separate home instead. We read the current policies for your address before design starts, because a scheme drawn to suit the wrong test wastes time and money. Where the position is unclear, the council’s pre-application advice can be worth its fee.
From first call to decision
Getting started in Derby costs nothing. Send us a few photos of your garden and the way in, or simply call, and we’ll look at the plot from the desk and talk through your family’s plans. If there’s a realistic scheme, we arrange a site visit. Survey and design are quoted in writing before you commit, and the build price follows once the design is settled.
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.
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.
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.
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
- Planning is the council’s decision, and an annexe is not a way round the rules that apply to a new house.
- VAT savings available on a separate dwelling often don’t apply to an annexe; take advice from a tax adviser before choosing.
- A separate home needs its own garden, parking, bins and access, so it needs more land than an annexe.
Questions about garden plots in Derby
Can I build a separate house in my Derby garden for my son or daughter?
Possibly, if the plot can work as a home in its own right. Derby City 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 Derby 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 Derby City 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.
Will an annexe in Derby 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. Derby City Council’s council tax team can tell you how the rules apply to your household.
Who owns an annexe built in my Derby 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.
Other options in Derby
- Sell part of your garden
- Bungalows on large plots
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Sell subject to planning
- Large rear gardens