- Planning authority
- Gateshead Council
- Postcodes
- NE16
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 35°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 7.1 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Tyne and Wear
The local picture in Whickham
A new home beside yours affects light to your side windows and your neighbour’s. Around the spring equinox, the noon sun over Whickham climbs to roughly 35°, and a 5 m eaves line then casts a shadow close to 7.1 m long. By December the midday sun reaches only about 12°, 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.
What happens next in Whickham
Give us your Whickham address and a sense of what you’re hoping for. Our desktop review covers the policies Gateshead Council works to, recent applications on nearby side and corner plots, and anything in your title that might restrict building. A clear result leads to a visit when it suits you, after which we explain each route and what it would mean in practice.
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.
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
- Losing a side garden or drive changes how your house works day to day, from parking to getting bins round the back.
- The council decides, and neighbours are consulted; a sensible design can still be refused or need changes.
- Attaching a home to yours brings party wall, fire and sound separation work, and changes the feel of your own house.
Questions about garden plots in Whickham
Will a new drive near the corner be allowed in Whickham?
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.
Is my Whickham 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 Whickham?
The planning decision belongs to Gateshead 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.
Can you build a home beside my house in Whickham for my family?
Yes. A home next door can give a parent or grown-up child their own front door while keeping them close. You keep the land; we draw the house, apply for permission, build it and arrange the structural warranty or other cover lenders accept. The written quote comes after design and survey.
Other options in Whickham
- Garage courts and yards
- Build a new home in your garden
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Plot feasibility and design
- Garden plot option agreement
- Sell subject to planning