- Planning authority
- Somerset Council
- Postcodes
- BA5
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.2 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Somerset
What the council will look at in Wells
Wherever your home sits within BA5, the street around it shapes what’s possible. Some roads already have houses built behind the originals, while elsewhere the gardens stay unbroken from end to end. Councils read that pattern when judging a new home, so we look at your surroundings as well as your plot.
The same applies if you live just outside Wells, in nearby places such as Frome, Burnham-on-Sea and Keynsham. The first step doesn’t change: a free look at depth, access, levels and what a new home would mean for the people next door.
From first call to decision
Here’s what happens after you get in touch about a garden in Wells. We look at maps, the title plan and nearby planning history, then call you to talk it through. If the plot looks viable we visit, measure up and check access, levels and trees. You then get a plain summary of what could fit and the routes open to you, with no obligation to take any of them.
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.
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.
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.
Worth checking early
- Neighbours are consulted and may object. The council decides, and a carefully designed scheme can still be refused.
- 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.
Your questions, answered for Wells
Does it cost anything to have my Wells garden looked at?
No. The garden plot appraisal is free and carries no obligation. It starts with a desktop check and a conversation, and we arrange a site visit if your garden looks viable. You only commit to anything once you’ve chosen a route and seen the terms in writing.
Who decides planning for a home in a Wells back garden?
Somerset 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 build a house in my back garden in Wells?
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 Somerset Council makes the decision. A free appraisal will tell you whether your garden is worth taking further.
Will my neighbours in Wells get a say?
Yes. The council consults neighbours on planning applications, and they can comment or object. Their comments are weighed alongside policy, but objections alone don’t decide the outcome. A layout that respects privacy, light and access usually gives neighbours less to worry about, so we design with them in mind.
Other options in Wells
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Corner and side plots
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Build a new home in your garden