Backland Development
0800 088 6248Free to call Free plot appraisal

Build a home for family in your garden in St Helens

A new home for family in your St Helens 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 St Helens 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.

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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
St Helens Borough Council
Postcodes
L35, WA9, WA10, WA11, WN5
Noon sun, 21 March
About 37°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.7 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Merseyside

Before you decide in St Helens

People living next door are consulted on every planning application, and across L35, WA9, WA10 and WA11 that applies to a family annexe just as much as to a new house. Their privacy, outlook and light carry real weight with St Helens 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 St Helens: about 37 degrees on 21 March and 13 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 37°, shadow 6.7 m21 Dec, noon: sun 13°, shadow 21.5 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of St Helens: around 37° of sun at midday in late March and about 13° 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

From first call to keys, a family home in St Helens follows a clear order. Free appraisal and site visit; measured survey and design around the person moving in; a planning application to St Helens Borough Council; approval under the Building Regulations and any CIL exemption claimed before work starts; then the build, with you living next door throughout. You receive a written quote after design and survey, and we keep the household updated at each stage.

  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. 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

  • 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.
  • An annexe tied by planning condition usually can’t be sold or let separately, which limits flexibility later.

Questions about garden plots in St Helens

Do I need planning permission for a granny annexe in St Helens?

Yes, almost always for a detached annexe with its own kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. St Helens Borough 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.

Can you design a home in St Helens 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 St Helens 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 much garden do I need for a family home in St Helens?

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 St Helens 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.

Who owns an annexe built in my St Helens 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.

Other options in St Helens

Family home in your garden near St Helens

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