Backland Development
0800 088 6248Free to call Free plot appraisal

Build a home for family in your garden in Dudley

Bringing an elderly parent to live beside you in Dudley 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 the West Midlands, with no steps to climb, a bedroom at ground level and a walk-in shower built in from day one. Planning goes through Dudley Metropolitan Borough 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
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
Postcodes
DY1, DY2, DY3
Noon sun, 21 March
About 38°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.5 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
West Midlands

What shapes a plot in Dudley

Daylight matters twice over when the new home is for a relative who spends much of the day indoors. At noon on 21 March the sun in Dudley is about 38° above the horizon, so a two-storey eaves line around 5 m high casts a shadow of roughly 6.5 m. A single-storey annexe with eaves at half that height casts one about half as long, which is one reason low buildings often sit more easily in a garden. By late December the midday sun climbs only about 14°, so we test winter light on both homes, and on next-door gardens, before the layout is fixed.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Dudley: about 38 degrees on 21 March and 14 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 38°, shadow 6.5 m21 Dec, noon: sun 14°, shadow 20.0 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Dudley: around 38° of sun at midday in late March and about 14° 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.

How we’d take it forward in Dudley

The next step is a conversation, by phone or through the form, about your garden in Dudley 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. 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.
  • 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 Dudley

Will an annexe in Dudley 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. Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council’s council tax team can tell you how the rules apply to your household.

Who owns an annexe built in my Dudley 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.

Can you design a home in Dudley 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 Dudley Metropolitan Borough 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.

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

Possibly, if the plot can work as a home in its own right. Dudley Metropolitan Borough 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.

Other options in Dudley

Family home in your garden near Dudley

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