- Nation
- England
- National planning policy
- NPPF
- Planning authorities
- 3
- City
- Bath
Getting it right in Somerset
Street character drives most decisions on corner plots in Somerset. Councils compare a proposed home with the houses either side: where the front wall sits, how high the roof is, what it’s built from and how much space is left at the sides. National policy in the NPPF and each council’s Local Plan both stress fitting in, and many councils have adopted design guidance on infill. We read the policies for your address and photograph the street before drawing anything, so the home is designed to belong there.
Planning authorities covering Somerset include Bath and North East Somerset Council, North Somerset Council, Somerset Council.
How it works
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.
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.
Corner and side plots in towns across Somerset
- Bath
- Weston-super-Mare
- Taunton
- Yeovil
- Bridgwater
- Portishead
- Frome
- Burnham-on-Sea
- Clevedon
- Nailsea
- Keynsham
- Wells
Questions about corner and side plots in Somerset
Will you build on my corner plot in Somerset if I keep the land?
Yes. Owners who keep their land can hand us the whole project: designing the home, applying for permission, building it and arranging the 10-year structural warranty that mortgage lenders generally look for. You’d keep, let or sell it. Expect a written quote once design and survey are done; guide prices are only guides.
Do you assess corner and side plots in Somerset?
Yes, anywhere in Somerset; we cover the whole of England and Wales. A few photos of the side of your house and the street, plus your address, are enough for us to run a free desktop check and tell you whether a visit makes sense.
Can I sell a side plot in Somerset without planning?
Yes. A direct purchase can happen before any permission exists, on the usual basis of survey, title and contract. Alternatively, a sale subject to planning lets us fund the application in the normal way, and if the council refuses, the land stays yours. Your free appraisal sets out which suits your plot.
Which national rules apply to a new home in Somerset?
Garden schemes here sit under the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), with the local detail coming from the council’s Local Plan. New homes must also meet the Building Regulations. That affects things such as fire engine access (or other measures, often sprinklers, agreed with building control and the fire service where a fire engine can’t get close enough). On drainage you’ll usually need a drainage plan the council will want to see, and land purchases fall under Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). We check which rules apply to your plot as part of the free appraisal.