Choosing a new build plot

[LilacSheep]

Hi,
We are currently deciding between 2 new build plots which are mirrored to eachother. The map shows the North arrow but we’re trying to understand which plot is better from a sun perspective. Plot 207 is sunken down slightly as we were told by the developers and we don’t know if this will affect the sun on the garden?
Plot 217 is quite open and no fences are provided between plots on move in. The drive way holds 2 cars so there is no room for visitors cars on this plot due to the drive threw off road drives.
We’re also thinking about the best plot for parking, access and privacy.
Please can anyone advise?
Thanks

Personally, knowing that land drainage is often barely thought about on new building sites (in terms of rain water run off) the sunken plot would be off the table for me as it is possible that's where everyone's rain water will head and your garden will be quagmire.

I can't read the numbers, but the house between the yellow and pink would be an absolute no for me. The garden looks like tiny and a weird shape, parking will be a nightmare.
The back of the other house will be overlooked on all sides, but at least the parking will be a bit easier.
As pp said, definitely no to the sunken one.

Both of the ones you chosen appear to have north facing gardens too. Did you want that?
I have a north facing garden and it's ok because it's quite long but given the choice I'd not pick it

I didn’t think both have a north facing garden. The blue dot on the right one for some reason is over the top of the garden so I thought that was north/west and the other plot was South/east facing?

I also can’t read the numbers but the house lower down seems the better one. The upper one has a garden which is more north facing and the driveway is in a funny angle with the other houses next to it and I could see parking/access arguments? Also the upper house the garden seems more north facing.

Is 149 sold?

Op, maybe I'm not properly awake yet but I can't make out what's what as the blue squares obscure things and I'm not sure what the pros and cons are of the different plots from your description.

Can you take off the squares and do a skinny arrow to A and B
Then
A

• Pro
• Pro
• Con

B

• Pro
• Con
• Con

?

Are they the last two plots to choose from in your price range?

I’m a very keen gardener, love sitting out in the garden too, and we’ve chosen all our houses based on their aspect and all the other factors that can’t be changed once you’ve moved in. Like others, I’ve found the plot numbers are blurry so I’ll refer to your 2 houses as the top house/lower house as one is slightly higher on the map.

The top house has a south-facing back garden while the lower one is more east/west facing. Either would work well as long as there’s no other houses blocking the sun when it’s lower in the sky in the morning and evening. It would be best to visit the plots in the middle of the day and when the sun is setting to see how the two plots would compare. However, as others have said, avoid the sunken plot.

217 is the best plot of that house type on the map, garden will get more sun plus you're not directly facing anyone at the front and the angles of the houses to the back will make it feel slightly less overlooked than the other. It doesn't look like there's visitor parking anywhere on the estate so I don't think there's going to be much difference between the 2 houses in that respect if you're set on estate/house type.

The North arrow is on the picture, not sure why the developer has essentially put the map upside down but it's the opposite to what you've said.

New map below.
They are the last 2 of the house type we want so trying to choose between these 2.

plot A
the back garden wall is a flag on edge retainer and then the two sides of the garden are brick, one is the pink garage of next door and the other is brick of the rear of gardens for plots 209 and 210. These two plots are also slightly higher up so don’t know about the sun being blocked.
Pro
Easier parking for visitors as it’s not on off road parking
Not having to provide fences as all garden is walled/ provided.

Con
Not sure on the sun throughout the day. I think it’s a north west facing garden so height of summer what would this get?

plot B
The back garden is level and then the garden of plot 206 is sunken down to the same level at plot A.
Pro
Slightly more private than plot A’s garden no overlooking.

Con
Parking any more than 2 cars would be difficult as we can’t block the off road parking for the adjacent houses.
The garden on move in has no side fencing provided so all gardens are open with only the back fence provided due to the drop in land to 206.
Again not sure on the sun for this house if it’s south east would we lose the sun mid afternoon?

Ok so I was basically looking at the wrong house before. Sorry about that. So I would go B. Garden will get more sun, it's bigger and less overlooked. Parking is a bit annoying but not for you, only for guests and if you had someone who couldn't really walk could you nit park 1 of your cars elsewhere and let them have the drive space?
If it's 206 that's sunken the. Water will run off your onto theirs.

I would also prefer B as

A

• looks virtually surrounded by neighbouring houses. Higher risk of noise issues.
• Is sunken so risk of being a very wet garden and neighbours will be looking down on it so more over looked.
• Garden is north (ish) facing and the eastern direction is shaded by the pink garage so morning sun affected, which could make whatever room is at the side of the house feel gloomier in the morning, particularly in winter when the sun is low.

B doesn't have all its fences but I wonder if you could negotiate for having those included / price adjusted for it as part of the purchase deal?
B has a South (ish) facing garden so will be nicer in summer which is when we mostly use our gardens.
B's parking might be a pain for visitors but won't affect you day to day.
I have a friend who lives in a house with no visitor parking, we have to park quarter of a mile away and walk... Not that big a deal really as we're all fit enough, if we have things to carry like bags for sleep over, we drop those off then go to park and walk back.

House B/217 is better. The garden will get more sun, it's not directly overlooked, at the front there are trees rather than another house directly opposite, it's not 'sunken', and the garden is a bit bigger.
Do both have flat back gardens? Does either have a through road passing it? Or a path that might be used a lot nearby? How often are you likely to have visitors? Will there be visitor spaces provided on the estate? Does every house have space for 2 cars? If not, then residents will park in the visitor spaces or half on the pavements.

B probably better as South facing garden and bigger but I would worry about the parking as you can't control what your neighbours and their visitors do so that would concern me, especially as you have two semis sharing your private road area so double the number of cars for the same size plot as your adjacent neighbour. You also share a boundary with 5 other properties so potential for disputes. I'm not sure I understand about the no fencing thing as seems an unusual arrangement. Who pays for and agrees the materials with your neighbours once you move in? I like that you have a green area with trees in front which will make it more private in future but would want to confirm the trees will definitely be planted as otherwise people will just park over it or kids might play ball games there.

A feels quite nice spaced away from other houses but the garden is more overlooked. Agree that parking would be less of an issue as space to park alongside the adjacent houses garden boundary. Being 'sunken' would be a massive concern if construction is not yet at a stage where I could view the plot or the developer can't provide exact height measurements (have you asked them?). Having lived in a house where a new build was constructed after we bought the house it ended up being built up much higher than the original plans (we complained to planning enforcement but that is a whole other thread) and loomed over our property which felt awful.

I think the parking situation is always awful in these developments and you have no idea who your neighbours will be so I would prefer plot B overall and fingers crossed you have considerate neighbours.

If I had to live in one then 217/b
Even if you had to pay to fence every boundary it would be a small price not to get stuck with the other garden

Plot B, definitely. Part of the garden being sunk down isn’t that big a problem if you are happy for the garden to have some landscaping down with a patio/decking etc, so that you can make best use of the spaces.

If this is your only choice then 217 for the same reasons as PP but honestly, I wouldn't be buying on this estate. Anyone with more than 2 cars at any time has nowhere to park so people will park wherever they can.
I'd also have minor concerns about the road layout. The darker roads will be adopted roads and upkeep paid for by the council eventually assuming this is in the UK, but the light grey bits could count as private driveway and therefore upkeep shared between the house owners. I'd definitely check that with the developer. Fine if you intend to stay for just a few years and leave before any problems, but could put off potential buyers.

B if I had to choose from those 2 , but in reality I’d never buy a house on a shared drive / access . A is totally overlooked

B, A looks noisier as it’s alongside someone’s drive.

We used to live on a plot similar to A. Being overlooked wasn’t the issue, the noise from the gardens was.

B, better in relation to sun path. I would also be concerned about ground water levels with a sunken garden. If it's the lowest point and the surrounding area is compacted from construction, guess where all the run off will end up? What type of soil is it on?

The North arrow is on the picture, not sure why the developer has essentially put the map upside down but it's the opposite to what you've said.

@Survivingnotthriving24 From the original map it appeared that the top house had its back garden to the RHS whereas from the clearer second map, the house faces in a different direction. The aspect information regarding the other house was correct.