- Planning authority
- Isle of Wight Council
- Postcodes
- PO39, PO40
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.1 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Isle of Wight
Freshwater: light, access and policy
How the two households will live together shapes the planning case as much as the drawings do. If your parent will eat with you, share the garden and rely on you day to day, an annexe is the natural fit, and that is what Isle of Wight Council will expect the application to describe. If your son or daughter will run their own home, pay their own bills and perhaps sell up one day, it is a separate dwelling and will be assessed against the council’s Local Plan as a new house. For a family in PO39 and PO40, we help set that out clearly from the start.
The next steps, locally
Getting started in Freshwater 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.
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.
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.
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.
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
- An annexe tied by planning condition usually can’t be sold or let separately, which limits flexibility later.
- VAT savings available on a separate dwelling often don’t apply to an annexe; take advice from a tax adviser before choosing.
- Family plans change: agree ownership, costs and what happens if circumstances change in writing, with a solicitor.
Questions about garden plots in Freshwater
Will an annexe in Freshwater 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. Isle of Wight Council’s council tax team can tell you how the rules apply to your household.
Can you design a home in Freshwater 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 Isle of Wight 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.
Who owns an annexe built in my Freshwater 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.
Can I build a separate house in my Freshwater garden for my son or daughter?
Possibly, if the plot can work as a home in its own right. Isle of Wight 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 Freshwater
- Garden plot option agreement
- Plot feasibility and design
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Sell subject to planning
- Build a new home in your garden