- Planning authority
- Brighton and Hove City Council
- Postcodes
- BN3, BN41
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.1 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- East Sussex
How it plays out in Hove
When Brighton and Hove City Council looks at a tandem plot, the first questions are usually about the drive: how close cars come to the front house’s windows, whether headlights will sweep across rooms at night, and whether the junction with the road is safe. Planning policy in the council’s Local Plan sets the tests, and design guidance fills in the detail.
Daylight matters too. With the late-March sun climbing to just 39° at midday in Hove, an eaves line 5 metres up on the new home would throw shade roughly 6.1 m across the ground beside it. Keeping the new home low or well back protects the gardens on both sides.
How we’d take it forward in Hove
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 Hove, 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.
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.
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
- A right of way that has served a garage or field for years may not legally cover a new house.
- 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.
- Planning permission gives no right to cross land you don’t own; the legal access has to be secured separately.
Questions about garden plots in Hove
Can I build behind my house in Hove if the only way in is my drive?
Possibly. That would be a tandem layout, with the new home behind yours sharing your drive. Brighton and Hove City Council will look at the effect of cars passing your house, privacy, garden space and whether it suits the area. Fire and bin access also need checking. The decision is the council’s, and a good design improves the odds.
Do you buy landlocked land in Hove?
We can, where the access problem looks solvable. Any purchase is subject to survey, title and contract. If securing access would cost more than it’s worth, or the owner of the strip won’t deal, we tell you that early rather than wasting your time.
Will Brighton and Hove City Council accept a shared drive for a new home in Hove?
It can, but shared drives are looked at closely. The council will consider the width, visibility at the road, the effect on the house beside the drive, and whether fire and bin access work. A drive with a clear gap from windows and screening alongside generally fares better.
Is a sprinkler system needed for a home at the end of a long drive in Hove?
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.
Other options in Hove
- Large rear gardens
- Garden plot option agreement
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Garage courts and yards
- Plot feasibility and design