Backland Development
0800 088 6248Free to call Free plot appraisal

Build a home for family in your garden in Bishop's Stortford

Bringing an elderly parent to live beside you in Bishop’s Stortford 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 Hertfordshire, with no steps to climb, a bedroom at ground level and a walk-in shower built in from day one. Planning goes through East Hertfordshire District 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
East Hertfordshire District Council
Postcodes
CM22, CM23
Noon sun, 21 March
About 38°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.4 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Hertfordshire

Before you decide in Bishop's Stortford

Access usually decides what a Bishop’s Stortford garden can take. An annexe can often share your drive because it is used with the house, but a separate home needs an access East Hertfordshire District Council will accept for a dwelling in its own right, with room for cars, bin collection and emergency vehicles. We cover homes in Bishop’s Stortford and around Harlow, Ware and Hoddesdon, 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 Bishop's Stortford: about 38 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 38°, shadow 6.4 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 19.1 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Bishop's Stortford: around 38° 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.

From first call to decision

Here’s what happens next for a family home in Bishop’s Stortford. You tell us about your plot and who the home is for, and we carry out a free desktop appraisal of access, space and the planning context. If it looks viable we visit, then set out the annexe and separate-home options. With your go-ahead we survey, design and give you a written quote, then prepare the application for East Hertfordshire District Council.

  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.
  • Family plans change: agree ownership, costs and what happens if circumstances change in writing, with a solicitor.
  • A separate home needs its own garden, parking, bins and access, so it needs more land than an annexe.

Your questions, answered for Bishop's Stortford

How long will building work disrupt my home in Bishop's Stortford?

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.

Is CIL payable on a family home in Bishop's Stortford?

Only if East Hertfordshire District 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 Bishop's Stortford?

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 East Hertfordshire District 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.

Can I build a separate house in my Bishop's Stortford garden for my son or daughter?

Possibly, if the plot can work as a home in its own right. East Hertfordshire District 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.

Other options in Bishop's Stortford

Family home in your garden near Bishop's Stortford

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