- Planning authority
- Breckland Council
- Postcodes
- NR19
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 37°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.6 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Norfolk
Before you decide in Dereham
Pre-application advice from Breckland Council is often the last step of a feasibility study in Dereham, 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.
How we’d take it forward in Dereham
Getting a straight answer about a garden plot in Dereham costs nothing at the first stage. Send us a few photos and a rough idea of the plot, or call, and we’ll check it from the desk. If it’s not worth pursuing, we’ll say so and explain why. If it is, we’ll set out the next steps and their cost in writing.
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.
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.
Concept designs and pre-application
Sketch layouts and simple elevations for the strongest options. Where it will help, we take one to the council for pre-application advice before anything is submitted.
Worth checking early
- A capacity figure is not a value; what a plot is worth depends on location, size, access and planning.
- 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.
Dereham: questions to ask
How much does a feasibility study cost in Dereham?
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.
Is my Dereham 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 Breckland 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.
What if my Dereham 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 many homes could fit in my garden in Dereham?
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 Breckland 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.
Other options in Dereham
- Garage courts and yards
- Build a new home in your garden
- Sell subject to planning
- Sell part of your garden
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Garden plot option agreement