- Planning authority
- Elmbridge Borough Council
- Postcodes
- KT11
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.2 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Surrey
Before you decide in Cobham
Sometimes the best scheme in Cobham 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 Cobham and nearby places such as Esher, Weybridge and Walton-on-Thames, and in each case we show the owners how one shared access could serve several homes. Whether Elmbridge Borough Council would support it depends on the design, the effect on the street and its policies.
How we’d take it forward in Cobham
Here’s how feasibility starts in Cobham. You tell us about the plot, by phone or through the form, and we carry out a free desktop appraisal of access, title plan and planning context. If it looks viable we visit. If you want to go further, we send a written scope and quote for survey, constraints check and capacity study, and nothing starts until you agree.
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
- Some ecology surveys can only be done at certain times of year, which can affect the programme.
- Title problems such as covenants, ransom strips or missing rights of way can take time and money to resolve.
- A feasibility study can end in a no; finding that out early costs far less than a refused application.
Your questions, answered for Cobham
How many homes could fit in my garden in Cobham?
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 Elmbridge 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.
Is my Cobham 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 Elmbridge 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.
How much does a feasibility study cost in Cobham?
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 do I know if my garden in Cobham 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.
Other options in Cobham
- Sell part of your garden
- Large rear gardens
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Garage courts and yards
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Build a new home in your garden