- Planning authority
- Wiltshire Council
- Postcodes
- SN11
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.3 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Wiltshire
The local picture in Calne
Garage courts are usually hemmed in by back gardens, so light becomes a real test. Take 21 March: at noon, Calne gets sun from about 39° up, which means a wall with 5 m eaves shades a strip of ground about 6.3 m deep behind it. Midwinter is harsher still, with the sun peaking at around 15°.
That explains why low homes, often single-storey or with rooms tucked into the roof, suit so many courts. We plot the shadows for your actual site and shape the buildings so surrounding gardens hold on to their light.
The next steps, locally
A garage enquiry from Calne can open with a phone call and a handful of photos showing the court, the lane and the roofs. We then run a desktop check and visit if the site deserves it. Sellers move on to heads of terms, handled by their solicitor; owners who want to build move on to surveys, design and a written quote.
Free site appraisal
We look at the site on maps, the title plan and the planning history, then talk through who uses it now. If it looks workable we visit. There’s no cost and no obligation.
Site checks and layout
We look at the access lane, the buildings, likely asbestos and contamination, drains and neighbours’ windows, then sketch what could realistically fit, from one home to a small group, or nothing at all.
Choose your route
Sell the site outright or subject to planning, grant an option, or keep it and have us design, get planning for and build. Garage tenancies and licences are ended properly before any work starts.
Planning, then sale or build
We prepare and submit the application and the council decides. If you sell, your solicitor handles the transfer. If you build, a written quote follows design and survey, then demolition and construction.
Worth checking early
- Neighbours whose gardens back onto the court are consulted and may object; the council decides.
- If garage income stops before a sale or build completes, you lose that income in the meantime.
- Asbestos, contamination and bat surveys add cost and time before demolition can start.
Your questions, answered for Calne
Do I need an asbestos survey for garages in Calne?
Yes, before demolition. Health and Safety Executive guidance says a refurbishment and demolition survey must find asbestos before structural work begins. Older garage roofs are often asbestos cement sheeting. Specialists carry out the survey and removal, and we build both into the plan.
Can you build homes on my yard in Calne if I keep it?
Yes. You keep ownership while we handle the lot: surveys, demolition of the old buildings, design, the planning application, construction and the structural warranty that buyers’ lenders tend to need. A written quote is given once design and survey are complete; guide prices before then are only guides.
Who has the final say on a Calne garage court scheme?
Wiltshire Council, as the local planning authority. Officers weigh the scheme against the council’s Local Plan and national policy, plus highways and design guidance, after hearing from neighbours and the highway authority. We put the application together and answer the officer’s questions, yet the verdict is never ours to give.
What does it cost to have my Calne garage site assessed?
Nothing. Our assessment is free, with no obligation. We review the title, maps and planning history and speak to you before deciding whether a visit is worthwhile. You’re only committed after choosing a route and agreeing terms set out in writing.
Other options in Calne
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Garden plot option agreement
- Plot feasibility and design
- Corner and side plots
- Combine gardens with your neighbours