Backland Development
0800 088 6248Free to call Free plot appraisal

Build a home for family in your garden in South Shields

A new home for family in your South Shields garden is built around one person’s needs, which makes the brief unlike other builds. Level paths from the car, a ground-floor bedroom with a shower room beside it, and enough distance from the main house for privacy matter more than an extra bedroom upstairs.

We take that brief through measured survey, design, planning with South Tyneside Council, approval under the Building Regulations and construction, with a written quote once design and survey are done. The first step is free: an appraisal of your plot, access and the planning picture, with a visit if it looks viable.

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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
South Tyneside Council
Postcodes
NE33, NE34
Noon sun, 21 March
About 35°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 7.1 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Tyne and Wear

What the council will look at in South Shields

Access usually decides what a South Shields garden can take. An annexe can often share your drive because it is used with the house, but a separate home needs an access South Tyneside Council will accept for a dwelling in its own right, with room for cars, bin collection and emergency vehicles. We cover homes in South Shields and around Tynemouth, North Shields and Jarrow, and on every plot we measure the drive width, the view along the road where the access joins it, and how far bins would need to travel, before anyone draws a plan.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in South Shields: about 35 degrees on 21 March and 12 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 35°, shadow 7.1 m21 Dec, noon: sun 12°, shadow 24.4 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in South Shields on 21 March sits about 35° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 7.1 m. In December the sun is only about 12° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

What happens next in South Shields

From first call to keys, a family home in South Shields follows a clear order. Free appraisal and site visit; measured survey and design around the person moving in; a planning application to South Tyneside 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.

  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. 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.
  • 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.

Your questions, answered for South Shields

How long will building work disrupt my home in South Shields?

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 you design a home in South Shields 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 South Tyneside 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.

Will an annexe in South Shields 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. South Tyneside Council’s council tax team can tell you how the rules apply to your household.

Who owns an annexe built in my South Shields 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.

Other options in South Shields

Family home in your garden near South Shields

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