Backland Development
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Build a home for family in your garden in West Bromwich

Bringing an elderly parent to live beside you in West Bromwich 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 Sandwell 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
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
Postcodes
B43, B64, B65, B69, B70
Noon sun, 21 March
About 37°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.5 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
West Midlands

What the council will look at in West Bromwich

Access usually decides what a West Bromwich garden can take. An annexe can often share your drive because it is used with the house, but a separate home needs an access Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council will accept for a dwelling in its own right, with room for cars, bin collection and emergency vehicles. We cover homes in West Bromwich and around Smethwick, Wednesbury and Tipton, 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 West Bromwich: about 37 degrees on 21 March and 14 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 37°, shadow 6.5 m21 Dec, noon: sun 14°, shadow 20.0 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of West Bromwich: around 37° 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.

The next steps, locally

Here’s what happens next for a family home in West Bromwich. 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 Sandwell Metropolitan Borough 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. 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

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

Your questions, answered for West Bromwich

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

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 Sandwell Metropolitan Borough 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.

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

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

Possibly, if the plot can work as a home in its own right. Sandwell 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.

Who owns an annexe built in my West Bromwich 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 West Bromwich

Family home in your garden near West Bromwich

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