- Planning authority
- South Ribble Borough Council
- Postcodes
- PR1
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 36°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.8 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Lancashire
What the council will look at in Penwortham
Pre-application advice from South Ribble Borough Council is often the last step of a feasibility study in Penwortham, 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.
From first call to decision
The next step is a free appraisal of your Penwortham 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.
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
- Title problems such as covenants, ransom strips or missing rights of way can take time and money to resolve.
- 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.
Your questions, answered for Penwortham
How much does a feasibility study cost in Penwortham?
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.
How many homes could fit in my garden in Penwortham?
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 South Ribble 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 Penwortham 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 Penwortham 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 South Ribble 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 Penwortham
- Corner and side plots
- Sell subject to planning
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Garden plot option agreement
- Combine gardens with your neighbours

