- Planning authority
- London Borough of Barnet
- Postcodes
- EN5, N3, N12, N20, NW4
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.3 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Greater London
Barnet: light, access and policy
A new home beside yours affects light to your side windows and your neighbour’s. Around the spring equinox, the noon sun over Barnet climbs to roughly 38°, and a 5 m eaves line then casts a shadow close to 6.3 m long. By December the midday sun reaches only about 15°, so the same wall shades far more ground.
On a side plot that shadow may fall across your own flank wall or the neighbour’s garden. We model it for your actual plot, and adjust the footprint, roof shape or gap at the side so the new home doesn’t take more light than it should.
The next steps, locally
An enquiry about a side plot in Barnet can begin with a quick call and a couple of photos of the side of your house and the street. We follow up with a desktop appraisal and, if it’s promising, a site visit. If you sell, heads of terms come next and your solicitor takes over. If you build, we move to survey and design, then a written quote.
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.
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.
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.
- Attaching a home to yours brings party wall, fire and sound separation work, and changes the feel of your own house.
- 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 Barnet
Will a new drive near the corner be allowed in Barnet?
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.
Could I sell just my side garden in Barnet 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.
Is my Barnet 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.
Which body approves a new home on a side plot in Barnet?
The planning decision belongs to the London Borough of Barnet. 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 Barnet
- Plot feasibility and design
- Garden plot option agreement
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Bungalows on large plots
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Sell subject to planning