- Planning authority
- East Devon District Council
- Postcodes
- EX8
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.1 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Devon
How it plays out in Exmouth
Take a walk round the junctions near you, in Exmouth and in Teignmouth, Exeter and Newton Abbot. Side gardens that already have a house on them show the kind of thing the council has accepted before, although each new application stands on its own and is judged under today’s policy. A corner that is still open will draw closer attention.
Those local tests are written into the council’s Local Plan and any design guidance East Devon District Council has adopted. Reading both before we draw means the scheme already answers the points an officer is likely to raise.
What happens next in Exmouth
After you contact us about a side or corner plot in Exmouth, 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.
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.
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.
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.
Design and planning
We draw a home that sits in the street rather than fighting it, usually take pre-application advice, and submit the application. The council consults neighbours and decides; small schemes often take a few months.
Worth checking early
- Attaching a home to yours brings party wall, fire and sound separation work, and changes the feel of your own house.
- Corners kept open by design can be harder to build on than they look; character can matter more than space.
- Losing a side garden or drive changes how your house works day to day, from parking to getting bins round the back.
Your questions, answered for Exmouth
Is my Exmouth 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.
Will a new drive near the corner be allowed in Exmouth?
Only if drivers would have a clear enough view of the road and the junction stays safe. The highway authority comments on this and controls new dropped kerbs. Drives very close to a corner are often resisted, so we check the position on site before designing.
Can I build a house on my corner plot in Exmouth?
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 East Devon District 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 Exmouth?
The planning decision belongs to East Devon District 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.
Other options in Exmouth
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Build a new home in your garden
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Build a home for family in your garden

