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

Bringing an elderly parent to live beside you in Thorne 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 South Yorkshire, with no steps to climb, a bedroom at ground level and a walk-in shower built in from day one. Planning goes through City of Doncaster 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.

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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
City of Doncaster Council
Postcodes
DN8
Noon sun, 21 March
About 36°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.8 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
South Yorkshire

Before you decide in Thorne

People living next door are consulted on every planning application, and across DN8 that applies to a family annexe just as much as to a new house. Their privacy, outlook and light carry real weight with City of Doncaster 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 Thorne: about 36 degrees on 21 March and 13 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 36°, shadow 6.8 m21 Dec, noon: sun 13°, shadow 21.7 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Thorne on 21 March sits about 36° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.8 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

Here’s what happens next for a family home in Thorne. 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 City of Doncaster 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

  • Family plans change: agree ownership, costs and what happens if circumstances change in writing, with a solicitor.
  • Planning is the council’s decision, and an annexe is not a way round the rules that apply to a new house.
  • 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.

Your questions, answered for Thorne

Can I build a separate house in my Thorne garden for my son or daughter?

Possibly, if the plot can work as a home in its own right. City of Doncaster 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.

Will an annexe in Thorne 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. City of Doncaster Council’s council tax team can tell you how the rules apply to your household.

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

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 Doncaster 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 Thorne?

Only if City of Doncaster 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.

Other options in Thorne

Family home in your garden near Thorne

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