- Planning authority
- Cornwall Council
- Postcodes
- PL25, PL26
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 40°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.0 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Cornwall
Before you decide in St Austell
A home placed behind another changes the light as well as the traffic. In St Austell the sun peaks at roughly 40° in late March and barely 16° at the winter solstice, so shadows from even a modest building stretch a long way across a garden in the darker months.
That is why many tandem schemes use a single-storey or low-eaves design. It keeps upstairs windows from looking over neighbours and limits shadow. Cornwall Council decides, and its own guidance on separation distances sets the gaps it expects.
How we’d take it forward in St Austell
Call us or use the form and tell us roughly where the land is and how you reach it now. We check the title and the planning history around St Austell, then come back to you. If the access can’t be secured on sensible terms, we’ll say so plainly and early, and there is nothing to pay for the appraisal.
Free plot appraisal
We start with the access, not the plot: title plans, rights of way, the width on the ground and the route to the road. It’s a desktop check and a conversation, with a site visit if it looks viable, at no cost.
Title and access check
With your solicitor we confirm who owns every strip between the plot and the road, what rights already exist and whether they cover a new home. Any ransom strip or missing right shows up at this stage.
Secure the way in
If a right of way needs widening, a strip needs buying or a neighbour needs to come in, we agree the approach with you and negotiate it, so the terms are settled before planning money is spent.
Planning application
We design a layout that answers the access, privacy and neighbour questions councils ask about tandem and backland plots, then apply. The council consults neighbours and decides, and the decision is always the council’s.
Worth checking early
- Buying out a ransom strip or a neighbour’s land costs money and time, and the other owner can say no.
- Tandem layouts affect the front house’s privacy and quiet, and councils weigh that carefully.
- Access is usually the deciding factor on these plots, so a large plot with a poor way in may not be a building plot at all.
Your questions, answered for St Austell
Can I get planning permission in St Austell before the access is sorted?
You can apply for planning on land you don’t own, as long as the owners are formally notified. But permission doesn’t give a right to cross anyone’s land. Most of the time it makes sense to agree access terms first, so the permission can actually be used.
Is a sprinkler system needed for a home at the end of a long drive in St Austell?
It may be. In England, where a fire engine can’t get within 45 metres of all points inside the home, other measures, often sprinklers, may be accepted if building control and the fire service agree. In Wales, every new house needs sprinklers anyway. Building control decides what’s needed for the specific layout.
What if a neighbour in St Austell owns the strip I need to cross?
Then you need their agreement, either to buy the strip or to grant a right of way over it. Terms are negotiated, often as a one-off payment or a share of the value the access creates. Both sides should take legal advice. We can make the approach with you.
How do I find out if a lane behind my St Austell home is a public road?
The highway authority keeps a list of streets maintained at public expense, and anyone can inspect it free of charge. If the lane isn’t on it, it’s probably private, and you’ll need to know who owns it and whether your title gives a vehicle right of way that would cover a new home.
Other options in St Austell
- Build a new home in your garden
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Plot feasibility and design
- Corner and side plots
- Bungalows on large plots
- Garage courts and yards