Building on a corner plot or side garden in Lancing

A wide side garden or double driveway beside a Lancing 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 Adur District 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
Adur District Council
Postcodes
BN15
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.1 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
West Sussex

What the council will look at in Lancing

A new home beside yours affects light to your side windows and your neighbour’s. Around the spring equinox, the noon sun over Lancing climbs to roughly 39°, and a 5 m eaves line then casts a shadow close to 6.1 m long. By December the midday sun reaches only about 16°, 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.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Lancing: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 16 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.1 m21 Dec, noon: sun 16°, shadow 17.8 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Lancing: around 39° of sun at midday in late March and about 16° 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 Lancing

After you contact us about a side or corner plot in Lancing, 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. 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.

  3. 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.

  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

  • 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.
  • Corners kept open by design can be harder to build on than they look; character can matter more than space.

Your questions, answered for Lancing

Is my Lancing 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.

Is there a fee for checking my side plot in Lancing?

There’s no fee. The appraisal is free and you’re under no obligation. We work from maps, the title and a phone call first, and only visit if the plot seems worth it. Nothing binds you until you’ve picked a route and read the written terms.

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

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 Adur District Council decides. Our free appraisal tells you whether your corner is worth taking further.

Will a new drive near the corner be allowed in Lancing?

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.

Other options in Lancing

Corner and side plots near Lancing

Find out what your garden could become

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