Backland Development
0800 088 6248Free to call Free plot appraisal

Build a home for family in your garden in Potters Bar

A new home for family in your Potters Bar 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 Hertsmere Borough 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.

Get a free appraisalCheck my garden
Single-storey garden home with wide glazed doors and a covered porch at the back of a family garden
Planning authority
Hertsmere Borough Council
Postcodes
EN6
Noon sun, 21 March
About 38°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.3 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Hertfordshire

Before you decide in Potters Bar

People living next door are consulted on every planning application, and across EN6 that applies to a family annexe just as much as to a new house. Their privacy, outlook and light carry real weight with Hertsmere Borough Council. A design that keeps upper windows away from adjoining gardens, uses obscure glazing where it has to, and leaves a planted margin along the boundary gives the council fewer reasons to refuse. A quiet word with the people either side before the application goes in is often worthwhile too.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Potters Bar: about 38 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 38°, shadow 6.3 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 18.8 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Potters Bar: 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

The next step is a conversation, by phone or through the form, about your garden in Potters Bar and who the new home is for. We check access, title, the main planning constraints and any CIL position for your address, then tell you whether an annexe, a separate home or neither looks realistic. If neither does, we’ll say so and explain why.

  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. 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.

  4. 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.

Worth checking early

  • VAT savings available on a separate dwelling often don’t apply to an annexe; take advice from a tax adviser before choosing.
  • A separate home needs its own garden, parking, bins and access, so it needs more land than an annexe.
  • Planning is the council’s decision, and an annexe is not a way round the rules that apply to a new house.

Questions about garden plots in Potters Bar

Can you design a home in Potters Bar 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 Hertsmere 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.

How long will building work disrupt my home in Potters Bar?

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.

Who owns an annexe built in my Potters Bar 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 Potters Bar?

Only if Hertsmere 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.

Other options in Potters Bar

Family home in your garden near Potters Bar

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