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

The first question for any family in Basingstoke thinking about building in the garden is usually this: annexe or proper house? The answer turns on the person moving in, how long they’re likely to stay, and whether you might ever want to sell or let the building on its own.

An annexe is used with your home and usually tied to it by condition. A separate dwelling stands alone, with its own permission and potentially its own title. Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council assesses them on different terms, and council tax, CIL and VAT rules split along the same line. Our free plot appraisal sets out both, so you can decide with your family and your advisers.

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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
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
Postcodes
RG21, RG22, RG24, RG25
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.2 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Hampshire

Before you decide in Basingstoke

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 Basingstoke is about 39° above the horizon, so a two-storey eaves line around 5 m high casts a shadow of roughly 6.2 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 Basingstoke: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.2 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 18.3 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Basingstoke: 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.

What happens next in Basingstoke

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

  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

  • A separate home needs its own garden, parking, bins and access, so it needs more land than an annexe.
  • An annexe tied by planning condition usually can’t be sold or let separately, which limits flexibility later.
  • Family plans change: agree ownership, costs and what happens if circumstances change in writing, with a solicitor.

Basingstoke: questions to ask

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

Possibly, if the plot can work as a home in its own right. Basingstoke and Deane Borough 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.

Who owns an annexe built in my Basingstoke 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.

Is CIL payable on a family home in Basingstoke?

Only if Basingstoke and Deane 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.

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

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 Basingstoke and Deane 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.

Other options in Basingstoke

Family home in your garden near Basingstoke

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