I've been making some more enquiries: the situation, in my district at least, is that there's no statutary requirement to have a garage at all, and a replacement building intended for use as a workshop-cum-store therefore doesn't need to be represented as one. A local estate agent told me that while the presence of a garage can be regarded as a selling point, in his experience most buyers only value them as storage space anyway, rather than somewhere to keep a vehicle (of whatever size). His opinion was that access from inside the house to a decent size space is at least as valuable as a slightly larger but completely detached proper garage.
So my currently favoured plan is to get rid of the existing concrete sectional garage and build a better structure up against the side of the house and strteching backwards, with no access from the drive and a side door connecting with a new rear extension (a basic single room some 3m square). The workshop will also have a wider than normal rear door opening onto a paved working-area patio in the back garden
I also rather like the idea of having the workshop floor at (or just above) ground level, for ease of access through that back door. This means internal steps down from the extension and a fire-resistant connecting door. The lower floor should also help prevent dirt, debris, sawdust and what have you making their way into the house.
I've sketched out basic floor plans and elevations but I don't think I'm up to producing full working constructional drawings to enable builders to quote for the job. Presumably that means I have to use an architect, a designer or a builder capable of creating his own plans (or using or adapting ones that are standard for my sort of house). Or is there an alternative I've overlooked?
Many thanks for any more thoughts.