- Planning authority
- Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority
- Postcodes
- SA62
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.4 m
- Planning plan
- LDP
- County
- Dyfed
Before you decide in St Davids
Planning permission from Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority and legal access are two separate things. An application can include land the applicant doesn’t own, once those owners have been served notice, yet a grant of permission still leaves the route itself unresolved. Crossing someone’s land needs a right recorded on the title.
We line those up in the right order. Access terms are agreed first, then the application is prepared against the council’s Local Development Plan (LDP), so you aren’t left holding a permission you can’t use.
How we’d take it forward in St Davids
We take a St Davids plot with tricky access forward in three stages. First the legal access, confirmed with your solicitor. Then a layout that answers the questions Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority asks about tandem and backland homes. Then the route you chose, whether that’s a sale, an option or a build. You can stop at any stage before signing.
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.
Sale or build
Depending on the route you chose, the sale completes through a transfer of part, or you keep the land and we give a written quote for building the new home after design and survey.
Worth checking early
- Buying out a ransom strip or a neighbour’s land costs money and time, and the other owner can say no.
- Long or narrow drives can mean extra cost for sprinklers, passing places, lighting or a bin collection point.
- Tandem layouts affect the front house’s privacy and quiet, and councils weigh that carefully.
Questions about garden plots in St Davids
Is a sprinkler system needed for a home at the end of a long drive in St Davids?
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.
How do I find out if a lane behind my St Davids 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.
What if a neighbour in St Davids 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.
Can I get planning permission in St Davids 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.
Other options in St Davids
- Build a new home in your garden
- Bungalows on large plots
- Corner and side plots
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Sell subject to planning
- Garden plot option agreement