- Planning authority
- Northumberland County Council
- Postcodes
- NE41, NE42
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 35°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 7.1 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Northumberland
Prudhoe: light, access and policy
A measured survey is where a family home in Prudhoe 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 35° at midday here, a 5 m eaves line throws a noon shadow close to 7.1 m; drawing that onto the survey shows which positions keep light in the main rooms of both homes. Northumberland County Council will expect to see the same evidence with the application.
From first call to decision
From first call to keys, a family home in Prudhoe follows a clear order. Free appraisal and site visit; measured survey and design around the person moving in; a planning application to Northumberland County 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.
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.
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.
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
- CIL exemptions are lost if work starts before the claim is made, and can be withdrawn if the home is sold or let within three years.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.
- Family plans change: agree ownership, costs and what happens if circumstances change in writing, with a solicitor.
Your questions, answered for Prudhoe
Is CIL payable on a family home in Prudhoe?
Only if Northumberland County 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.
Will an annexe in Prudhoe 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. Northumberland County Council’s council tax team can tell you how the rules apply to your household.
Can I build a separate house in my Prudhoe garden for my son or daughter?
Possibly, if the plot can work as a home in its own right. Northumberland County Council will look at access, parking, garden space for both houses, privacy and the character of the street, as it would for any new house. If permission is granted, the plot can be transferred to your child with its own title, with your lender’s consent if the house is mortgaged.
Can you design a home in Prudhoe 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 Northumberland County 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 Prudhoe
- Bungalows on large plots
- Garage courts and yards
- Plot feasibility and design
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Tandem and landlocked plots

