Backland Development
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Build a home for family in your garden in East Grinstead

A new home for family in your East Grinstead 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 Mid Sussex District 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
Mid Sussex District Council
Postcodes
RH19
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.2 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
West Sussex

The local picture in East Grinstead

People living next door are consulted on every planning application, and across RH19 that applies to a family annexe just as much as to a new house. Their privacy, outlook and light carry real weight with Mid Sussex District 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 East Grinstead: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.2 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 18.1 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of East Grinstead: around 39° 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.

How we’d take it forward in East Grinstead

Here’s what happens next for a family home in East Grinstead. 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 Mid Sussex 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. 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.

  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

  • VAT savings available on a separate dwelling often don’t apply to an annexe; take advice from a tax adviser before choosing.
  • 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.
  • A separate home needs its own garden, parking, bins and access, so it needs more land than an annexe.

Your questions, answered for East Grinstead

Do I need planning permission for a granny annexe in East Grinstead?

Yes, almost always for a detached annexe with its own kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Mid Sussex District Council will treat it as accommodation linked to your home and will usually add a condition so it can’t be let or sold separately. A garden building used only as a home office or gym is a different matter, but sleeping and cooking take it beyond those allowances.

Can I reclaim VAT on a family annexe in East Grinstead?

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.

Can you design a home in East Grinstead 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 Mid Sussex District 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 East Grinstead garden for my son or daughter?

Possibly, if the plot can work as a home in its own right. Mid Sussex District 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 East Grinstead

Family home in your garden near East Grinstead

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