Backland Development
0800 088 6248Free to call Free plot appraisal

Build a home for family in your garden in York

Two households, one plot: that’s the idea behind a family home in a York garden. Done well, each has privacy and a front door, yet help is a few steps away. Done badly, it can strain relationships and leave a building nobody can use when circumstances change.

The difference lies mostly in the planning route and the layout. Backland Development is a new S&K Group brand offering design and build to homeowners in York and the surrounding area, and each project begins with a free plot appraisal that weighs an annexe against a separate home for your family.

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
City of York Council
Postcodes
YO1, YO10, YO23, YO24, YO31
Noon sun, 21 March
About 36°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.9 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
North Yorkshire

York: light, access and policy

A measured survey is where a family home in York 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 6.9 m; drawing that onto the survey shows which positions keep light in the main rooms of both homes. City of York Council will expect to see the same evidence with the application.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in York: about 36 degrees on 21 March and 13 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 36°, shadow 6.9 m21 Dec, noon: sun 13°, shadow 22.4 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in York on 21 March sits about 36° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.9 m. In December the sun is only about 13° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

From first call to decision

The next step is a conversation, by phone or through the form, about your garden in York and who the new home is for. We check access, title, the main planning constraints and any CIL position for your address, then tell you whether an annexe, a separate home or neither looks realistic. If neither does, we’ll say so and explain why.

  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

  • 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.
  • 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.

Questions about garden plots in York

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

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 City of York 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 York 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.

Is CIL payable on a family home in York?

Only if City of York 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.

Can I reclaim VAT on a family annexe in York?

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.

Other options in York

Family home in your garden near York

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