- Planning authority
- Buckinghamshire Council
- Postcodes
- HP6, HP7
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.3 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Buckinghamshire
Amersham: light, access and policy
Every application for a new home in a Amersham back garden is decided by Buckinghamshire Council, which weighs it against the council’s Local Plan, national policy and any local design guidance it has adopted. Those documents often set out separation distances, minimum garden sizes and how homes behind the street should relate to it.
We read the relevant policies for your address before suggesting a layout, and where it helps we ask the council for pre-application advice. That way the scheme you see reflects what is likely to be acceptable locally, not a generic drawing.
From first call to decision
Send us your address in Amersham and a rough idea of what you’d like. We check the planning history around you and the policies Buckinghamshire Council applies, and look for anything in the title that could get in the way. If the garden passes those checks, we arrange a visit at a time that suits you and explain each route in plain terms.
Free plot appraisal
We look at your garden using maps, the title plan and the planning history around you, then talk it through with you. If it looks workable we arrange a site visit. There’s no cost and no obligation.
Measure and test the layout
We check depth, the width of the way in, levels, trees, drains and what lies behind, then sketch what could realistically fit: one home, two, or nothing worth pursuing, before anyone pays for an application.
Choose your route
You decide whether to sell the plot outright, sell subject to planning, grant an option, team up with neighbours, or keep the land and have us design, get planning for and build a home on it.
Planning application
We prepare the drawings and reports, usually take pre-application advice, and submit. The council consults neighbours and decides. Small schemes often take a few months from submission, longer if surveys or amendments are needed.
Worth checking early
- A shorter garden changes how your own house feels to live in and may affect what it is worth.
- A covenant, a mortgage, a public sewer or a protected tree can slow a scheme down or stop it altogether.
- Cars passing beside your house to reach the new home bring noise and headlights; screening helps but doesn’t remove it.
Your questions, answered for Amersham
Can I build a house in my back garden in Amersham?
Possibly, if the garden is deep enough, has a safe way in and a new home wouldn’t harm the neighbours or the character of the street. A new separate home always needs planning permission, and Buckinghamshire Council makes the decision. A free appraisal will tell you whether your garden is worth taking further.
Who decides planning for a home in a Amersham back garden?
Buckinghamshire Council decides, using the council’s Local Plan, national policy and any local design guidance. It consults neighbours and other bodies before reaching a decision. We prepare the application and deal with the planning officer, but the outcome is always the council’s call.
Can I sell the end of my garden in Amersham and keep my house?
Yes. The plot is sold as a transfer of part and gets its own title at HM Land Registry. If your house is mortgaged, your lender must agree to release the plot. We can buy suitable plots with or without planning, always subject to survey, title and contract.
How do I find out if my Amersham garden is big enough for a house?
Ask for a free garden plot appraisal. We measure depth and the width of the way in, check what lies behind, look at levels, trees and drainage, and compare your garden with your council’s separation and garden-size guidance. Size alone rarely settles it, because access and neighbours’ privacy matter just as much.
Other options in Amersham
- Build a new home in your garden
- Corner and side plots
- Sell subject to planning
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Sell part of your garden
- Tandem and landlocked plots

