Backland Development
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Garden plot feasibility and design in Brentwood

Not every garden in Brentwood that looks big enough will make a building plot, and not every awkward one is hopeless. What counts is how the plot is reached, what the title says, how close the neighbours’ windows are and what Brentwood Borough Council will accept.

We test each of those in turn, then work out how many homes, of what size and height, could sit comfortably on the land. You see the evidence behind every conclusion, from measured distances to the policy wording that applies. The first appraisal is free, and anything beyond it carries a fixed written fee agreed with you in advance.

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Surveyor in a hi-vis vest taking GPS measurements in a long suburban back garden
Planning authority
Brentwood Borough Council
Postcodes
CM13, CM14, CM15
Noon sun, 21 March
About 38°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.3 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Essex

Before you decide in Brentwood

Pre-application advice from Brentwood Borough Council is often the last step of a feasibility study in Brentwood, and one of the most useful. Once the survey, constraints check and concept designs are done, we can put the strongest option to a planning officer and ask for a written view on the principle and the details. It isn’t binding, but it shows how the scheme measures up against the council’s Local Plan and what an application would need. Any council fee is set by the council and shown in our written quote.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Brentwood: about 38 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 38°, shadow 6.3 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 18.7 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Brentwood: around 38° 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.

The next steps, locally

The next step is a free appraisal of your Brentwood garden. We look at the access, the shape of the plot, the title plan and the main planning constraints, then talk it through with you. Where the plot shows promise, we set out the surveys and design work it needs, with a written price for each stage, and you decide how far to take it.

  1. Free plot appraisal

    A desktop look at your plot, access, title plan and the planning picture, plus a conversation about what you want. If it looks viable we visit. There’s no cost and no obligation at this stage.

  2. Scope and written quote

    If you want to go further, we set out which surveys and checks your plot needs and what they will cost, in writing. Nothing is commissioned until you have agreed the scope and the price.

  3. Survey and constraints check

    A measured survey of the plot and its surroundings, then a check of the title, services, trees, flood risk and heritage designations, so the design starts from facts rather than guesses.

  4. Feasibility report and options

    A clear yes, no or maybe, the reasons behind it, and the routes open to you: apply for planning, build, sell or partner. You decide what happens next, with no obligation to use us for it.

Worth checking early

  • Some ecology surveys can only be done at certain times of year, which can affect the programme.
  • A feasibility study can end in a no; finding that out early costs far less than a refused application.
  • Pre-application advice is not binding, and the council’s decision on a formal application can still differ.

Your questions, answered for Brentwood

What if my Brentwood garden plot fails the feasibility check?

Then you know before spending money on a planning application, and you know why. Sometimes a smaller scheme, an annexe, or working with the neighbours next door changes the answer, and we will say if so. If nothing does, you keep the survey and the report for the future. You are under no obligation to us either way.

How do I know if my garden in Brentwood is big enough for a house?

Size alone won’t tell you. What matters is whether there is a workable access, enough distance from neighbours’ windows, room for gardens, parking and bins for both homes, and nothing on the title or in policy that rules it out. A feasibility study checks each of those for your plot. The first stage, a free plot appraisal, gives you an early view.

Is my Brentwood garden in a flood zone or conservation area?

Both are public information. Flood zones are shown on the flood maps for planning in England, and Brentwood Borough Council publishes its conservation area boundaries and the listed buildings in its area. We check these as part of the free appraisal, along with Tree Preservation Orders, because each one changes what a scheme needs to show.

How much does a feasibility study cost in Brentwood?

It depends on the plot. A simple garden with a clear drive needs less work than one with protected trees, a flood zone or a complicated title. The first appraisal is free. After that we set out the scope and the price in writing, and you choose whether to go ahead before anything is commissioned.

Other options in Brentwood

Feasibility and design near Brentwood

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