- Planning authority
- Blackpool Council
- Postcodes
- FY1, FY2, FY3, FY4, FY5
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 36°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.8 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Lancashire
Before you decide in Blackpool
A measured survey is where a family home in Blackpool stops being an idea and becomes a plan. We record boundaries, levels, trees, drains and the windows of your house and the houses next door, then test where the new building can sit. With the spring equinox sun standing near 36° at midday here, a 5 m eaves line throws a noon shadow close to 6.8 m; drawing that onto the survey shows which positions keep light in the main rooms of both homes. Blackpool Council will expect to see the same evidence with the application.
From first call to decision
Here’s what happens next for a family home in Blackpool. 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 Blackpool Council.
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.
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.
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
- 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.
- VAT savings available on a separate dwelling often don’t apply to an annexe; take advice from a tax adviser before choosing.
Blackpool: questions to ask
Who owns an annexe built in my Blackpool 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 Blackpool?
Yes, almost always for a detached annexe with its own kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Blackpool 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.
Will an annexe in Blackpool 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. Blackpool Council’s council tax team can tell you how the rules apply to your household.
Is CIL payable on a family home in Blackpool?
Only if Blackpool 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 Blackpool
- Garage courts and yards
- Large rear gardens
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Plot feasibility and design
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Corner and side plots

