- Planning authority
- East Lindsey District Council
- Postcodes
- PE25
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 37°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.7 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Lincolnshire
What the council will look at in Skegness
When East Lindsey District 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 37° at midday in Skegness, an eaves line 5 metres up on the new home would throw shade roughly 6.7 m across the ground beside it. Keeping the new home low or well back protects the gardens on both sides.
From first call to decision
Once you get in touch about land in Skegness, we look at the title plan and any rights of way from the desk, then talk it through with you. If the access looks workable, we visit and measure the route, including the junction with the road. You get a plain account of the options before any planning work starts.
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
- Tandem layouts affect the front house’s privacy and quiet, and councils weigh that carefully.
- A right of way that has served a garage or field for years may not legally cover a new house.
- Buying out a ransom strip or a neighbour’s land costs money and time, and the other owner can say no.
Skegness: questions to ask
Can I get planning permission in Skegness 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.
Could my neighbour and I in Skegness share one new access?
Often, yes. If both your gardens are long, combining them can give one shared drive and a better layout than either garden alone. Each owner keeps their house, and a written agreement sets out how the value is shared fairly.
Is a sprinkler system needed for a home at the end of a long drive in Skegness?
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.
Will East Lindsey District Council accept a shared drive for a new home in Skegness?
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.
Other options in Skegness
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Bungalows on large plots
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Corner and side plots
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Garden plot option agreement

