- Planning authority
- Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council
- Postcodes
- AL6, AL7, AL8
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.4 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Hertfordshire
Before you decide in Welwyn Garden City
Daylight is one of the first things Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council will test on a garden scheme, so we test it first too. At midday on 21 March the sun over Welwyn Garden City sits about 38° above the horizon, and a typical two-storey eaves line around 5 m high throws a shadow of roughly 6.4 m. In late December the noon sun reaches only about 15°, so winter shadows run roughly three times longer. Plotting both on the measured survey shows where a new home can stand without darkening the gardens and rooms around it.
The next steps, locally
From first call to a clear answer, feasibility work in Welwyn Garden City 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 Welwyn Hatfield 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.
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
- Pre-application advice is not binding, and the council’s decision on a formal application can still differ.
- A feasibility study can end in a no; finding that out early costs far less than a refused application.
- Some ecology surveys can only be done at certain times of year, which can affect the programme.
Questions about garden plots in Welwyn Garden City
How do I know if my garden in Welwyn Garden City 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.
What if my Welwyn Garden City 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.
Can you check the title deeds on my Welwyn Garden City property?
Yes. We obtain the title register and title plan from HM Land Registry and read them for restrictive covenants, rights of way, easements and any mortgage charge. If something needs a legal opinion, we flag it so your solicitor can advise. Title issues are far better found during feasibility than halfway through a planning application or a sale.
Is my Welwyn Garden City 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 Welwyn Hatfield 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.
Other options in Welwyn Garden City
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Corner and side plots
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Sell subject to planning
- Large rear gardens
- Combine gardens with your neighbours