Granny annexe living – stay close to family, and enjoy your own space!
Diane Cossie
If you are looking for the best way to get the best return for your money when it comes to granny annexes, you’ll love this!
The team here at Contemporary Log Living have helped hundreds of people just like you to build custom annexes or garden lodges in their gardens.
If you are serious about building a granny annexe in your garden for a member of your family, take a few minutes to read this page very carefully because it can potentially save you & your family time & money and a whole lot of hassle.
We’ve spent years doing things the hard way so you don’t have to.
Annexes are an investment in your family that can potentially reward you over & over when you do it the right way, and that’s the beauty of granny annexe living.
Custom build on site annexes come with a 10 Year Build Warranty. Our luxury residential lodges are built to BS3632 for comfortable year round living. We offer a full turn-key service for both options that includes our planning service, foundations & mains service connections, and installation.
Planning Permission
Planning Permission or obtaining a Certificate of Lawfulness is definitely something you should NOT attempt yourself. For best results we use professionals who specialise in obtaining residential & annexe planning permission in the UK.
Foundations & Mains Service Connections
We offer a full turn-key service which includes applying for the relevant permission to build and preparing your foundations and mains service connections ready for a smooth & quick installation.
Custom Build Annexes & Luxury Lodges
We offer a wide range of custom build on site annexes & luxury lodges. Lodges are built to British Standards and are 100% compliant with the Caravan Act. (The most straight forward way to obtain the relevant permission to site a granny annexe in your garden.)
Annexe living offers you and your family a smart way to plan for retirement. By downsizing to free up equity elderly relative care or helping younger members of your family becomes much easier when you have a family annexe in your garden.

- Age UK has found in the past that 1.2 million older people in Britain are chronically lonely, with half a million over-60s usually spending every day alone. And 3.9 million people say television is now their main form of company.
- Of all the problems facing the country, how to care for a rapidly ageing population is one of the most pressing.
- With Care Homes costing an average of £1,000 to £1500 per week in the UK an annexe will typically pay for itself in less than 3 years keeping the equity in the family.
- There are Council Tax benefits and Inheritance Tax benefits to annexe living that you may qualify for depending on your individual circumstances.
Our full turn-key approach
When it comes to Granny Annexes we’ve found the best solution is to keep the process as simple as possible.
- We offer both custom build on site annexes (unfurnished) and high quality furnished luxury garden lodges.
- We also offer a full turn-key Planning Permission service if required and recommend the Certificate of Lawfulness route as your best option in most cases.
- We’ll even arrange for your foundations and connections to mains services if needed. It’s all part of the service.
A glimpse at some of our most recent custom annexes ...
The beauty of annexe living

Custom build on site annexes are a lot like taking on a mini Grand Design style project where we help design & build a custom annexe for your garden.
Or if you prefer a “ready-made” option, choose from our wide range of luxury lodges.
All our lodge style anexes are manufactured here in the UK and built to BS3632 making them suitable for year-round living.
They all come with a 10 year warranty for total peace of mind.
Garden lodges come fully furnished & ready to move in or unfurnished whichever suits you better.
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They are available in a wide range of sizes, styles & budgets that are designed to offer great value for money and make the Planning Permission & Annexe Build process as simple & streamlined as possible.
Even though Central Government in the UK is highly in favour of annexes, you may find that your Local Planning Authority isn’t.
This can be frustrating and it’s the primary reason we offer a full turn-key service as it’s definitely not something you should attempt yourself.
It should be handled by professionals who specialise in obtaining residential planning permission in the UK.
Contrary to what you might read (thanks Google!) a granny annexe with someone living in it on a day-to-day basis will always need either planning permission or a Certificate of Lawfulness from your LPA.
Ignore it at your peril and always remember granny annexe planning permission will only ever be granted for a family member.
That’s the Beauty of Annexe Living, it’s something your family will enjoy for many years to come.
Some of our stunning lodge style annexes

When it comes to building an annexe in your back garden, choosing the right way to do it with our help is vital to securing permission from your Local Planning Authority.
In order for your new annexe to be defined as a mobile home under the Caravan Act, The Caravan Sites Act 1968, as amended in England 2006 and Wales 2007 outlines the criteria for what constitutes a mobile home.
Size – wise to comply it must be:-
- No more than 20 metres in length (that’s 65′ 6″ in old money as it were)
- No more than 6.8 metres in width (that’s 22′ 3″)
- No higher (internally, from the floor at it’s lowest point to the ceiling at it’s highest 3.05 metres (10 feet)
You may find yourself restricted on size, design, facilities and position if you opt for Planning Permission rather than the Caravan Act.
That’s the same for either a custom build on site annexe or a lodge.
We offer both and will advise you on the best best route for you during our FREE consultation process.
We offer the widest choice of custom build on site annexes & lodges available. And with prices ranging from £99,000 all the way up to £200,000 and beyond, you will be thrilled with our fexible approach.
Rather than simply reading about how great a family annexe would be for you, why not download a copy of our latest brochure.
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