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

Bringing an elderly parent to live beside you in Waterlooville 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 Hampshire, with no steps to climb, a bedroom at ground level and a walk-in shower built in from day one. Planning goes through Havant Borough 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
Havant Borough Council
Postcodes
PO7, PO8
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.1 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Hampshire

Waterlooville: light, access and policy

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 Waterlooville is about 39° above the horizon, so a two-storey eaves line around 5 m high casts a shadow of roughly 6.1 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 16°, 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 Waterlooville: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 16 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.1 m21 Dec, noon: sun 16°, shadow 17.8 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Waterlooville on 21 March sits about 39° 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.

What happens next in Waterlooville

Getting started in Waterlooville 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

  • Planning is the council’s decision, and an annexe is not a way round the rules that apply to a new house.
  • 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.

Waterlooville: questions to ask

How long will building work disrupt my home in Waterlooville?

A single garden home usually takes several months on site, with the noisiest work, such as groundworks, drainage and heavy deliveries, concentrated near the start. We agree working hours, access and parking with you up front, and with the people next door where it affects them, so your household knows what each week will look like.

Can I reclaim VAT on a family annexe in Waterlooville?

Often not. HMRC’s guidance gives an annexe that can’t be used or sold separately from the main house as an example of work that can’t be zero-rated, and the DIY housebuilders refund scheme asks the same question. A separate dwelling is usually treated differently. Take advice from a tax adviser before you settle the planning route, because the wording of the permission matters.

Can you design a home in Waterlooville 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 Havant 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.

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

Other options in Waterlooville

Family home in your garden near Waterlooville

Find out what your garden could become

Free garden plot appraisal. No cost, no obligation, and a straight answer if it won’t work.

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