Backland Development
0800 088 6248Free to call Free plot appraisal

Garden plot feasibility and design in Keynsham

If you’re wondering whether your garden in Keynsham could take a new home, a feasibility study is the honest way to find out. It checks access, title, planning constraints and space, then shows what could realistically fit, before you commit to the cost of a planning application.

Bath and North East Somerset Council makes the planning decision, so our work is built around the policies and design guidance it applies to homes in gardens. The first stage is a free plot appraisal, carried out from the desk and followed by a visit if the plot shows promise. Anything more detailed comes with a written price, and you decide whether to go ahead.

Get a free appraisalCheck my garden
Surveyor in a hi-vis vest taking GPS measurements in a long suburban back garden
Planning authority
Bath and North East Somerset Council
Postcodes
BS31
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.3 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Somerset

Keynsham: light, access and policy

Any capacity study for a garden in Keynsham starts with the policies in the council’s Local Plan and any design guidance Bath and North East Somerset 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.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Keynsham: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.3 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 18.5 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Keynsham on 21 March sits about 39° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.3 m. In December the sun is only about 15° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

The next steps, locally

From first call to a clear answer, feasibility work in Keynsham 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 Bath and North East Somerset Council where it helps. You get a short report setting out the options, and the choice of what happens next stays with you.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.
  • Pre-application advice is not binding, and the council’s decision on a formal application can still differ.

Your questions, answered for Keynsham

How do I know if my garden in Keynsham 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 many homes could fit in my garden in Keynsham?

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 Bath and North East Somerset 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.

Do I have to use you for planning after a feasibility study in Keynsham?

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.

What if my Keynsham 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.

Other options in Keynsham

Feasibility and design near Keynsham

Find out what your garden could become

Free garden plot appraisal. No cost, no obligation, and a straight answer if it won’t work.

Get my free appraisal 0800 088 6248