- Planning authority
- Dacorum Borough Council
- Postcodes
- HP1, HP2, HP3, WD4
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.3 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Hertfordshire
Before you decide in Hemel Hempstead
Any capacity study for a garden in Hemel Hempstead starts with the policies in the council’s Local Plan and any design guidance Dacorum Borough Council has adopted for homes in gardens. Those documents set the tests the scheme will be judged against: character, separation, garden size, parking and access. Some councils also have specific policies on backland or tandem development. We read the current versions for your address and draw the concept options to meet them, which makes a later application far easier to defend.
From first call to decision
From first call to a clear answer, feasibility work in Hemel Hempstead follows a simple order: free appraisal, written quote, measured survey, title and constraints check, access and capacity study, concept designs, and pre-application advice from Dacorum Borough Council where it helps. You get a short report setting out the options, and the choice of what happens next stays with you.
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.
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.
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.
Access and capacity study
We test each workable route in and the number, size and position of homes the plot could hold, against separation distances, garden space, parking, bins and daylight for neighbours.
Worth checking early
- A capacity figure is not a value; what a plot is worth depends on location, size, access and planning.
- 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.
Questions about garden plots in Hemel Hempstead
How many homes could fit in my garden in Hemel Hempstead?
That is what a capacity study answers. It tests options against separation distances from neighbours, garden space for each home, parking, bins and access, as well as the policies Dacorum Borough Council applies. For many gardens the answer is one home; larger or combined plots can sometimes take more. We show the options on drawings so you can see why.
How do I know if my garden in Hemel Hempstead 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.
How much does a feasibility study cost in Hemel Hempstead?
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.
Do I have to use you for planning after a feasibility study in Hemel Hempstead?
No. The survey, report and concept designs are yours to use as you choose. You can take the scheme forward with us, through our planning permission or design and build services, or sell or partner on the plot with us, or use another firm. We would rather you made the decision that suits you.
Other options in Hemel Hempstead
- Bungalows on large plots
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Sell subject to planning
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Sell part of your garden