- Planning authority
- Vale of White Horse District Council
- Postcodes
- OX12
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.3 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Oxfordshire
Wantage: light, access and policy
Sometimes the best scheme in Wantage takes in more than one garden. If your plot is short of access or depth, a feasibility study can test a combined layout with the gardens next door, as well as yours alone. We cover Wantage and nearby places such as Didcot, Abingdon and Oxford, and in each case we show the owners how one shared access could serve several homes. Whether Vale of White Horse District Council would support it depends on the design, the effect on the street and its policies.
The next steps, locally
From first call to a clear answer, feasibility work in Wantage 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 Vale of White Horse District 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.
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 feasibility study can end in a no; finding that out early costs far less than a refused application.
- A capacity figure is not a value; what a plot is worth depends on location, size, access and planning.
- Pre-application advice is not binding, and the council’s decision on a formal application can still differ.
Questions about garden plots in Wantage
Do I have to use you for planning after a feasibility study in Wantage?
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.
How do I know if my garden in Wantage 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 Wantage?
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 Wantage?
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 Vale of White Horse District 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 Wantage
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Large rear gardens
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Corner and side plots
- Planning permission for a garden plot