Underground car galleries in Buckinghamshire and the Chilterns

Why Buckinghamshire

South Buckinghamshire and the Chilterns offer country houses with land, within easy reach of London. That is the setting a BELOW gallery needs: room for a pavilion, an aisle of around 16 cars and a drive-out ramp, without crowding the house.

It is also tightly protected. Buckinghamshire Council reports that Green Belt covers 32% of its area, and the Chilterns National Landscape covers 27%. The council describes both as significant planning constraints.

The Green Belt test

The National Planning Policy Framework, updated in August 2026, says the essential features of Green Belts are their openness and permanence. Under policy GB6, inappropriate development should not be approved except in very special circumstances.

Policy GB7 allows an extension that is not a disproportionate increase in size over the original building. Some inspectors count basement floorspace in that test. GB7 also lists engineering operations as not inappropriate, where the impact on openness is minimised.

A gallery wholly below ground, with the lawn restored over it, has a strong case on openness. Whether it can be seen from outside the site is one of the factors inspectors weigh. Our planning permission guide covers the detail.

The Chilterns National Landscape

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty were renamed National Landscapes in November 2023. National policy, policy N4, gives substantial weight to conserving and enhancing their natural beauty, and limits the scale and extent of development.

So the visible part of a gallery is kept small: one pavilion in keeping with the house, a ramp head set into the land, and low, shielded lighting. In a National Landscape, outbuildings more than 20m from the house are limited to 10 square metres under permitted development. The pavilion therefore goes into the full planning application.

Listed houses, conservation areas and trees

Works that alter a listed house in a way that affects its character need listed building consent, and its setting is protected. In a conservation area, the council must pay special attention to its character or appearance. A gallery under the grounds leaves the historic house untouched.

Chilterns houses often sit among woodland and mature gardens. Each tree gets a root protection area under BS 5837, and the gallery is planned around the ones worth keeping. Ancient and veteran trees are never moved for a gallery. Our guide to a garage under the garden explains how the grounds are protected.

What a Buckinghamshire gallery can include

• A drive-through car lift inside a garden pavilion. Our residential car lift guide explains how it works.
• An independent drive-out ramp as the second route.
• Around 16 cars on a single level, about 4.5m down.
• Climate control, fire detection and security to insurer standards, as in our car vault guide.

Size, depth and ground set the budget. Our underground garage cost guide explains each driver.