Backland Development
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Building plots in large rear gardens in County Durham

Where several long gardens sit side by side in County Durham, owners sometimes get a better scheme by working together than by going it alone. One shared drive can serve new homes across two or three gardens, leaving each existing house with more of its garden and fewer cars passing its windows.

That isn’t the only way forward. A single long garden with a good access can work on its own, and some owners would rather keep the land and have a home built for a relative. We assess your plot first, then talk through selling, partnering with neighbours or building, so you can decide with the facts in front of you.

Get a free appraisalAbout large rear gardens
Overhead view of three long, narrow back gardens with lawns, a greenhouse, vegetable beds and sheds
Nation
England
National planning policy
NPPF
Planning authorities
4
City
Durham

County Durham: the planning picture

Old titles can hold surprises, and gardens in County Durham are no exception. A restrictive covenant may limit building, a mortgage lender must agree to release the plot, and a strip of land you don’t own can sit between your garden and the lane behind it. Trees in a conservation area or under a Tree Preservation Order need consent or notice before any work. We read the title documents as part of the appraisal, so problems come to light before you spend money on design rather than after it.

Planning authorities covering County Durham include Darlington Borough Council, Durham County Council, Hartlepool Borough Council, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council.

How it works

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. Sale or build

    If you sell, your solicitor handles the transfer of part and your lender’s release of the plot. If you build, we give a written quote after design and survey, then build and hand over the new home.

Large rear gardens in towns across County Durham

Questions about large rear gardens in County Durham

Is planning policy for back gardens the same across County Durham?

No. National policy, the NPPF, applies everywhere, but each council adds its own plan and design guidance. Separation distances, garden sizes and parking standards can all differ. That’s why we never quote one rule for a whole county and always check the policies for your address.

What fire and drainage rules apply to garden homes in County Durham?

Every new home must allow for 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, expect a drainage plan the council will want to see. Both can affect where a home sits in a long garden and how the drive is laid out, so we check them early rather than after the design is drawn.

Do I have to sell, or will you build on my land in County Durham?

Either works. On the selling side there’s an outright sale, a sale subject to planning, an option, or a planning promotion on bigger or combined gardens. On the building side, you keep the land and we take a new home from design through planning to handover. A free appraisal comes first.

Do I need my own solicitor to sell a plot in County Durham?

Yes, always. Your solicitor checks the contract, deals with the transfer of part at HM Land Registry and asks your mortgage lender to release the plot if the house is mortgaged. On option and promotion agreements we cover your reasonable legal fees, with the cap agreed in heads of terms before work starts.

Other options in County Durham

Everything we cover in County Durham

Find out what your garden could become

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

Get my free appraisal 0800 088 6248