Backland Development
0800 088 6248Free to call Free plot appraisal

Build a home for family in your garden in Hale

Bringing an elderly parent to live beside you in Hale often feels like the obvious answer, until you look at what the house can offer. A spare room up a flight of stairs rarely suits someone whose mobility is failing. A purpose-built single-storey home in the garden can.

We offer design and build of garden homes for family across Greater Manchester, with no steps to climb, a bedroom at ground level and a walk-in shower built in from day one. Planning goes through Trafford Council, and we prepare and manage the application for you. Start with a free plot appraisal and we’ll tell you honestly whether your garden looks suitable.

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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
Trafford Council
Postcodes
WA15
Noon sun, 21 March
About 37°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.7 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Greater Manchester

What shapes a plot in Hale

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 Hale is about 37° above the horizon, so a two-storey eaves line around 5 m high casts a shadow of roughly 6.7 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 13°, 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 Hale: about 37 degrees on 21 March and 13 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 37°, shadow 6.7 m21 Dec, noon: sun 13°, shadow 21.3 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Hale on 21 March sits about 37° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.7 m. In December the sun is only about 13° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

What happens next in Hale

Getting started in Hale 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.

  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. 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.

  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

  • Family plans change: agree ownership, costs and what happens if circumstances change in writing, with a solicitor.
  • Planning is the council’s decision, and an annexe is not a way round the rules that apply to a new house.
  • A separate home needs its own garden, parking, bins and access, so it needs more land than an annexe.

Hale: questions to ask

Is CIL payable on a family home in Hale?

Only if Trafford 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.

Can you design a home in Hale 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 Trafford 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.

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

Possibly, if the plot can work as a home in its own right. Trafford 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.

Will an annexe in Hale 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. Trafford Council’s council tax team can tell you how the rules apply to your household.

Other options in Hale

Family home in your garden near Hale

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