Building on a corner plot or side garden in Earley

A wide side garden or double driveway beside a Earley house is one of the more straightforward places to add a home, because the new house can line up with its neighbours and have its own drive. It still needs planning permission, and Wokingham Borough Council will judge how it sits in the street.

Our free appraisal looks at width, the gaps between houses, side windows, parking and what lies under the ground. Then we explain both routes in plain terms: selling the land while you stay put, or keeping it and having a new home designed and built for you.

New detached brick house on a corner plot beside an older semi-detached house
Planning authority
Wokingham Borough Council
Postcodes
RG2, RG6, RG41
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.3 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Berkshire

Before you decide in Earley

Corner plots in Earley raise a highways question early on. Drivers turning the corner need to see each other, and a new drive close to the junction needs its own clear view of the road. The highway authority comments on these points and controls new dropped kerbs separately from planning.

Homes in RG2, RG6 and RG41 on wide corners often have room to place a drive well away from the junction. On tighter corners, a smaller home or a drive onto the quieter road may be the answer. Either way, Wokingham Borough Council will want to see that the layout is safe.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Earley: 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
This section is worked out for the latitude of Earley: around 39° of sun at midday in late March and about 15° at midwinter. It shows why the gap between your house and a new home behind it is about light as well as privacy. Garden assumed to face north.

How we’d take it forward in Earley

After you contact us about a side or corner plot in Earley, we start with a desktop check: maps, the title plan, street views and nearby planning history. We then call to talk through what you want. If the plot looks viable, we visit, measure the street and check the drive position. You get a plain summary of the options, with no obligation.

  1. Free plot appraisal

    We look at your plot on maps, the title plan and street views, check planning history nearby and talk it through with you. If a home beside yours looks possible we visit. No cost, no obligation.

  2. Read the street

    We measure the plot and record the building line, the gaps between houses, roof heights, materials and boundary walls, then check where a new drive could go and what drivers would be able to see from it.

  3. Choose your route

    Sell the plot outright, sell it subject to planning, or grant an option while you keep your house. Or keep the land and have us design, get planning for and build a new home on it.

  4. Sale or build

    For a sale, your solicitor handles the transfer of part and any release from your lender. For a build, a written quote follows design and survey, then we build, arrange the warranty and hand over.

Worth checking early

  • A new drive close to a junction may not be acceptable to the highway authority, which can force a different layout.
  • Corners kept open by design can be harder to build on than they look; character can matter more than space.
  • The council decides, and neighbours are consulted; a sensible design can still be refused or need changes.

Earley: questions to ask

Could I sell just my side garden in Earley and stay put?

Yes. Legally it’s a transfer of part: HM Land Registry gives the side plot a title of its own, while your house keeps the rest. A mortgage lender has to consent to releasing the plot from its charge. Where the plot suits, we buy with or without planning, subject to survey, title and contract.

Can I build a house on my corner plot in Earley?

Possibly, if a new home would respect the building lines, keep the corner feeling open enough and allow safe visibility for drivers. It needs planning permission, and Wokingham Borough Council decides. Our free appraisal tells you whether your corner is worth taking further.

Which body approves a new home on a side plot in Earley?

The planning decision belongs to Wokingham Borough Council. It checks the proposal against the council’s Local Plan, national policy and its own design guidance, and asks neighbours and the highway authority for their views first. Our role is to prepare and submit a strong application; approval or refusal is the council’s call alone.

Is my Earley side garden wide enough for a new house?

It depends on how wide homes are in your street, the gaps between them, whether the new home would be attached or detached and what the council’s design guidance says. There’s no single minimum width. We measure your plot and the street as part of a free appraisal.

Other options in Earley

Corner and side plots near Earley

Find out what your garden could become

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