- Nation
- England
- National planning policy
- NPPF
- Planning authorities
- 11
- County town
- Guildford
Before you start in Surrey
Planning rules for rear gardens in Surrey come in layers. National tests come from the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), each council’s Local Plan adds local ones, and many councils publish design guidance with separation distances and garden sizes. Many use around 21 metres between facing back windows, but the figure your own council uses is the one that counts. Because those local rules differ from one council to the next, we check the policies for your exact address before suggesting any layout, and we tell you plainly if a garden is unlikely to work.
Planning authorities covering Surrey include Elmbridge Borough Council, Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, Guildford Borough Council, Mole Valley District Council, Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, Runnymede Borough Council, Spelthorne Borough Council, Surrey Heath Borough Council, Tandridge District Council, Waverley Borough Council, Woking Borough Council.
How it works
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.
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 Surrey
- Woking
- Guildford
- Esher
- Redhill
- Staines-upon-Thames
- Banstead
- Leatherhead
- Ewell
- Farnham
- Epsom
- Camberley
- Egham
- Sunbury-on-Thames
- Ashford, Surrey
- Walton-on-Thames
- Godalming
- Reigate
- Horley
- Caterham
- Weybridge
- East Molesey
- Dorking
- Haslemere
- Cobham
- Chertsey
Questions about large rear gardens in Surrey
Do you look at large rear gardens in Surrey?
Yes. We cover the whole of Surrey, as part of our coverage across England and Wales. Send us your address and a few details about your garden, and we’ll carry out a free desktop appraisal before suggesting a site visit.
Which councils decide garden plot applications in Surrey?
Applications go to the local planning authority for your address. Across Surrey, the authorities include Elmbridge Borough Council, Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, Guildford Borough Council, Mole Valley District Council, Reigate and Banstead Borough Council and other councils. Each works to its own development plan and design guidance, so the tests for a rear garden home can differ from one council to the next. We check the right ones for your plot.
What fire and drainage rules apply to garden homes in Surrey?
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.
Which council decides planning for a garden plot in Surrey?
The council for your address decides. The planning authorities covering Surrey include Elmbridge Borough Council, Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, Guildford Borough Council, Mole Valley District Council, Reigate and Banstead Borough Council and other councils. Each judges applications against its own Local Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), together with its design guidance. We prepare and submit the application and deal with the council’s questions, but the decision is always the council’s, never ours.