Backland Development
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Build a home for family in your garden in Bicester

For grown-up children in Bicester, the step to a first home can be a long one. If your garden is big enough, a small separate house on part of it could become theirs: with its own planning permission and title, it can be mortgaged in their name and sold when they move on.

That asks more of the plot than an annexe does, including its own garden, parking and an access Cherwell District Council will accept. We look at all of that in a free plot appraisal, then design and build the home if the scheme stacks up and you want to go ahead.

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
Cherwell District Council
Postcodes
OX6, OX25, OX26, OX27
Noon sun, 21 March
About 38°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.4 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Oxfordshire

The local picture in Bicester

Cherwell District 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.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Bicester: about 38 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 38°, shadow 6.4 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 19.1 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Bicester: around 38° of sun at midday in late March and about 15° 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

Here’s what happens next for a family home in Bicester. You tell us about your plot and who the home is for, and we carry out a free desktop appraisal of access, space and the planning context. If it looks viable we visit, then set out the annexe and separate-home options. With your go-ahead we survey, design and give you a written quote, then prepare the application for Cherwell District Council.

  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

  • An annexe tied by planning condition usually can’t be sold or let separately, which limits flexibility later.
  • A separate home needs its own garden, parking, bins and access, so it needs more land than an annexe.
  • Family plans change: agree ownership, costs and what happens if circumstances change in writing, with a solicitor.

Your questions, answered for Bicester

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

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 Cherwell District 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.

Is CIL payable on a family home in Bicester?

Only if Cherwell District 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.

How long will building work disrupt my home in Bicester?

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.

Can I reclaim VAT on a family annexe in Bicester?

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 Bicester

Family home in your garden near Bicester

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