On this page
- What does our planning permission service cover?
- Should you apply for outline or full planning permission?
- What goes into a strong backland planning application?
- Is pre-application advice worth paying for?
- How do councils decide applications for homes in gardens?
- How long does a planning decision take?
- What conditions come with planning permission for a garden plot?
- What can you do if planning permission is refused?
- What happens once you have planning permission?
- Step by step
- Questions
Who this suits
- Owners who want permission in place before deciding whether to sell or build
- Homeowners planning a design and build who need the application prepared properly
- Owners whose earlier garden application was refused and want an honest second look
- Neighbours combining gardens who need one joined-up application for a shared access
- Owners holding outline permission who need reserved matters or conditions dealt with
What does our planning permission service cover?
Our planning permission service is the preparation, submission and management of a planning application for a new home on garden land you own. We commission the surveys, draw the scheme, write the supporting statements, deal with the council’s officers and consultees, and explain the decision and its conditions.
It works on its own or as the first half of our design and build service. Some owners want permission in place before they decide whether to build, sell or wait; others want it as the first stage of having a home built in their garden. Either way, you keep the land and the permission.
You pay for this service. Our fee is agreed in writing before we start, with the council’s application fee and any specialist surveys listed separately. If you would rather not pay for planning at all, our subject-to-planning and planning promotion routes work differently, and we explain both below.
Should you apply for outline or full planning permission?
Outline permission settles whether a new home is acceptable in principle; full permission approves the actual design. With outline, some or all of the details — access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale — are left as reserved matters, approved later through a separate application.
On garden plots, full permission is often the stronger choice. The issues councils worry about, such as overlooking, overshadowing and how cars will reach the new home, can only be judged properly with real drawings in front of them, and an outline scheme that leaves them all open can struggle.
Outline can still suit an owner who plans to sell and wants a buyer to choose the house design, or a larger site where several gardens are combined. In that case we usually fix access at outline stage, because the access is what makes the plot work.
What goes into a strong backland planning application?
A strong garden application answers the council’s questions before they are asked. Every council keeps a local validation list setting out what it needs, and the application must include a location plan with the site edged in red — including the access — and a certificate confirming who owns the land.
Beyond the basics, the documents below are the ones that usually decide a backland scheme. Not every plot needs every report; the appraisal tells us which ones yours does.
| Document | What it shows | Why it matters on a garden plot |
|---|---|---|
| Site plan and layout | The new home, plot boundaries, access drive, turning, parking, bin store and cycle storage | Proves cars can turn and leave forwards, and that bins sit within collection distances |
| Floor plans and elevations | Room layout, heights, windows, roof form and materials | Shows where windows face and how tall the new home is beside its neighbours |
| Street-scene and character analysis | Plot sizes, building lines, heights and spacing in the surrounding area | Tests whether a home behind the frontage fits the established pattern |
| Separation and overlooking plan | Distances between windows and to boundaries, with screening | Addresses privacy, often against the council’s separation guidance |
| Daylight and overshadowing study | How the new home affects light to neighbouring windows and gardens | Answers loss-of-light objections with measurement rather than opinion |
| Tree survey and protection plan | Trees on and near the plot, root protection areas and fencing | Protected or valuable trees often set where the house and drive can go |
| Ecology report | Habitats, protected species and biodiversity measures | Gardens can hold wildlife, and the scheme must meet biodiversity net gain rules |
| Drainage and flood information | Foul and surface water routes, and flood risk where relevant | New homes need a drainage plan the council will want to see |
| Access and transport note | Drive width, visibility splays at the road, parking and fire access | Highways comments on the access can make or break the scheme |
Is pre-application advice worth paying for?
Pre-application advice is an informal written view from the council’s planners on a draft scheme before you formally apply. It isn’t compulsory, councils may charge for it, and it doesn’t bind the eventual decision — but it can be a material consideration and often shows exactly which issues will matter.
For a garden plot it is usually worth it where policy is strict, the access is borderline, the plot is in a conservation area or there has been an earlier refusal. It is less useful where a scheme closely follows recent approvals on similar plots nearby. We’ll tell you which applies to yours.
Pre-application advice adds time before submission, and a response can sometimes be vague. We prepare a clear package with specific questions so the reply is useful, then adjust the design before the full application goes in.
How do councils decide applications for homes in gardens?
By law, a planning decision must follow the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. For a garden plot that means the council’s Local Plan, read with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the council’s design guide or supplementary planning document, plus any comments from neighbours and consultees such as highways, drainage and tree officers.
The tests are practical. Officers ask whether the access is safe and will disturb the homes beside it, whether the new home fits the character and pattern of the area, whether it will overlook or overshadow neighbours, whether both houses keep enough garden, and how trees, wildlife, parking, bins and drainage are handled. Many councils use around 21 metres between facing back windows and around 12 to 15 metres between a back window and a blank side wall, but your council’s own guide decides.
Neighbours are told about the application and usually have at least 21 days to comment. Small applications are then usually decided by planning officers under delegated powers. In England, from 31 October 2026, applications for one to nine homes on sites under half a hectare must be decided by officers rather than a committee. In Wales, some still go to the council’s planning committee — for example, when there are many objections or a councillor asks for it.
In Wales By law, a planning decision must follow the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. For a garden plot that means the council’s Local Development Plan (LDP), read with Planning Policy Wales (PPW) and the council’s supplementary planning guidance and Technical Advice Note 12 on design, plus any comments from neighbours and consultees such as highways, drainage and tree officers.
How long does a planning decision take?
For a minor application, such as one or a few new homes in a garden, the statutory period is 8 weeks from the date the council has a valid application. That applies in both England and Wales. Larger schemes, and those needing an environmental impact assessment, have longer periods.
In practice many applications take longer than 8 weeks. Councils often ask the applicant to agree an extension of time in writing, and agreeing is usually sensible if amendments are being discussed. If no decision is made in time and no extension has been agreed, you can appeal for non-determination.
Allow time before submission too. Surveys, design and any pre-application advice come first, and some surveys, such as certain ecology work, can only be done at particular times of year.
What conditions come with planning permission for a garden plot?
Conditions are requirements attached to a planning permission that must be met to build lawfully. Some are compliance conditions you simply follow; others ask for details, such as materials, landscaping or drainage, to be submitted and approved by the council.
- Time limit — work must normally begin within three years in England or five years in Wales, unless the permission says otherwise.
- Pre-commencement conditions — details that must be approved before any work starts; building without approving them is unlawful.
- Typical garden conditions — tree protection, a construction management plan, obscure glazing to side windows, parking and visibility splays kept clear, and approved drainage.
- Permitted development rights — councils sometimes remove them, so later extensions to the new home need their own application.
What can you do if planning permission is refused?
If permission is refused, you can amend the scheme and apply again, appeal against the decision, or decide not to go further. The refusal notice gives the council’s reasons, and those reasons shape which option makes sense.
Where the reasons are specific — a window too close to a boundary, a drive too narrow, a roof too high — a revised application addressing them is often the quickest route. Where the council has objected in principle, or you believe the decision is wrong, an appeal may be better. Appeals go to the Planning Inspectorate in England or to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales, and must be made within 6 months of the decision date.
Appeals can take several months, and the appeal is decided on the planning merits by someone independent of the council. We’ll give you a straight view of the prospects before you spend more.
What happens once you have planning permission?
Planning permission belongs to the land, not to the person who applied, so it carries on if the plot is sold. That gives you options. You can build the new home yourself through our design and build service, sell the plot with permission, or keep it while you decide.
If you want to sell, the routes are selling part of your garden outright, selling subject to planning, or an option agreement. With planning promotion, we seek permission at our cost and recover those costs from the sale proceeds only if a sale with planning happens. The free appraisal is the best place to compare these with paying for an application yourself.
Step by step
Free plot appraisal
We review the title plan, access, constraints, policy and planning history around your address, then talk it through with you. If the plot looks viable we visit, and tell you plainly whether an application is worth making.
Surveys and design
A measured survey comes first, followed by the specialist surveys the plot needs, such as trees or ecology. The layout is designed around access, privacy, daylight, parking, bins and garden space for both homes.
Pre-application advice
Where policy is tight or the plot unusual, we put a draft scheme to the council’s planners first. Their written response shows which issues to fix before you pay the full application fee.
Submit and manage
We complete the forms, ownership certificate, drawings and statements, pay the fee on your behalf and submit. During consultation we answer officers’ questions, respond to consultees and agree amendments where they help.
Decision and next steps
If permission is granted, we explain every condition and what must happen before work starts. If it’s refused, we review the reasons with you and set out the options: amend and resubmit, appeal, or stop.
Things to weigh up
- Planning is the council’s decision; even a well-prepared application can be refused, and the costs of preparing it aren’t recovered.
- Specialist surveys can be needed at short notice when a consultee raises an issue, adding cost and time.
- Neighbours have a formal say during consultation, and the council must weigh any planning objections they raise.
- Conditions can add cost and work before building starts, such as approved drainage details, tree protection or a construction management plan.
- Permission doesn’t override private rights: covenants, ransom strips, sewer easements and party wall matters still need dealing with separately.
Questions about garden plot planning
Do I need planning permission to build a house in my garden?
Yes. A new, separate home always needs planning permission, either full or outline followed by reserved matters. It is never permitted development, however large the garden. An annexe used as part of your existing household is treated differently from a separate dwelling, but once a building is designed to be lived in independently, with its own front door and facilities, it needs permission as a new home.
Can I get planning permission and then sell the plot?
Yes. Planning permission stays with the land, so a plot with permission can be sold and the buyer can build the approved scheme. Some owners apply first and then decide. If you know from the start that you want to sell, compare paying for the application yourself with selling subject to planning or planning promotion, where the planning costs are dealt with differently.
How long does planning permission last?
A full planning permission normally has to be started within three years in England or five years in Wales, unless the decision notice sets a different period. Outline permissions work differently, with deadlines for applying for reserved matters and for starting work, all set out in the decision notice. Once work has lawfully begun, the permission is usually treated as implemented, but pre-commencement conditions must be dealt with first.
How much does a planning application cost?
There are three parts. The council’s application fee is set by national regulations and depends mainly on the number of new homes. Specialist surveys, such as trees, ecology or drainage, depend on what the plot needs. Our own fee for preparing and managing the application is agreed in writing before we start. Pre-application advice, if used, carries the council’s own charge.
Will my neighbours be told about the application?
Yes. The council publicises every application, usually with a letter to neighbours, a site notice or both, and it is usually published on the council’s website. Neighbours typically get at least 21 days to comment. It often helps to speak to them before submitting, because concerns about privacy, parking or light can sometimes be designed out before they become objections.
Can I apply for planning permission on land I don’t own?
Anyone can apply for planning permission on any land, but the applicant must notify the owners and sign the right ownership certificate, or the application is invalid. That matters when neighbours combine gardens, or when the access crosses someone else’s land. Permission doesn’t give you a right to use another person’s land, so access rights still have to be agreed.
What happens if my garden plot application is refused?
You can amend the scheme and apply again, appeal, or stop. Appeals must be made within 6 months of the decision and are decided by the Planning Inspectorate in England or Planning and Environment Decisions Wales. Often the quickest answer is a revised scheme that deals directly with the reasons for refusal, but where the council objects in principle an appeal may be the better option.