Backland Development
0800 088 6248Free to call Free plot appraisal

Build a home for family in your garden in Great Yarmouth

Bringing an elderly parent to live beside you in Great Yarmouth often feels like the obvious answer, until you look at what the house can offer. A spare room up a flight of stairs rarely suits someone whose mobility is failing. A purpose-built single-storey home in the garden can.

We offer design and build of garden homes for family across Norfolk, with no steps to climb, a bedroom at ground level and a walk-in shower built in from day one. Planning goes through Great Yarmouth Borough Council, and we prepare and manage the application for you. Start with a free plot appraisal and we’ll tell you honestly whether your garden looks suitable.

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
Great Yarmouth Borough Council
Postcodes
NR30, NR31
Noon sun, 21 March
About 37°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.5 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Norfolk

What the council will look at in Great Yarmouth

A measured survey is where a family home in Great Yarmouth 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 37° at midday here, a 5 m eaves line throws a noon shadow close to 6.5 m; drawing that onto the survey shows which positions keep light in the main rooms of both homes. Great Yarmouth Borough Council will expect to see the same evidence with the application.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Great Yarmouth: about 37 degrees on 21 March and 14 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 37°, shadow 6.5 m21 Dec, noon: sun 14°, shadow 20.1 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Great Yarmouth: around 37° of sun at midday in late March and about 14° 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.

The next steps, locally

Getting started in Great Yarmouth 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.

  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.
  • 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.
  • Planning is the council’s decision, and an annexe is not a way round the rules that apply to a new house.

Your questions, answered for Great Yarmouth

Can I reclaim VAT on a family annexe in Great Yarmouth?

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.

How much garden do I need for a family home in Great Yarmouth?

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 Great Yarmouth 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 Great Yarmouth 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 Great Yarmouth?

Yes, almost always for a detached annexe with its own kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Great Yarmouth 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.

Other options in Great Yarmouth

Family home in your garden near Great Yarmouth

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