- Planning authority
- Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council
- Postcodes
- LE10
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 37°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.5 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Leicestershire
How it plays out in Hinckley
Hinckley and Bosworth Borough 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.
From first call to decision
Getting started in Hinckley 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.
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.
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.
- Family plans change: agree ownership, costs and what happens if circumstances change in writing, with a solicitor.
- CIL exemptions are lost if work starts before the claim is made, and can be withdrawn if the home is sold or let within three years.
Your questions, answered for Hinckley
How long will building work disrupt my home in Hinckley?
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.
How much garden do I need for a family home in Hinckley?
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 Hinckley and Bosworth Borough 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 reclaim VAT on a family annexe in Hinckley?
Often not. HMRC’s guidance gives an annexe that can’t be used or sold separately from the main house as an example of work that can’t be zero-rated, and the DIY housebuilders refund scheme asks the same question. A separate dwelling is usually treated differently. Take advice from a tax adviser before you settle the planning route, because the wording of the permission matters.
Can you design a home in Hinckley 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 Hinckley and Bosworth 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.
Other options in Hinckley
- Sell part of your garden
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Build a new home in your garden
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Combine gardens with your neighbours