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

A new home for family in your Hertford garden is built around one person’s needs, which makes the brief unlike other builds. Level paths from the car, a ground-floor bedroom with a shower room beside it, and enough distance from the main house for privacy matter more than an extra bedroom upstairs.

We take that brief through measured survey, design, planning with East Hertfordshire District Council, approval under the Building Regulations and construction, with a written quote once design and survey are done. The first step is free: an appraisal of your plot, access and the planning picture, with a visit if it looks viable.

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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
SG13, SG14
Noon sun, 21 March
About 38°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.4 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Hertfordshire

How it plays out in Hertford

East Hertfordshire District 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.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Hertford: 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 19.0 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Hertford on 21 March sits about 38° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.4 m. In December the sun is only about 15° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

What happens next in Hertford

Here’s what happens next for a family home in Hertford. 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. 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

  • 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.
  • A separate home needs its own garden, parking, bins and access, so it needs more land than an annexe.

Hertford: questions to ask

Can I build a separate house in my Hertford 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.

Is CIL payable on a family home in Hertford?

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.

Who owns an annexe built in my Hertford 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.

Do I need planning permission for a granny annexe in Hertford?

Yes, almost always for a detached annexe with its own kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. East Hertfordshire District Council will treat it as accommodation linked to your home and will usually add a condition so it can’t be let or sold separately. A garden building used only as a home office or gym is a different matter, but sleeping and cooking take it beyond those allowances.

Other options in Hertford

Family home in your garden near Hertford

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