Corner plots and side gardens in Tyne and Wear

Some of the simplest new-home sites in Tyne and Wear sit right beside an existing house: a wide side garden, a double driveway, or the long flank of a corner plot running along a second road. A home there can line up with the street rather than hide behind it.

Backland Development started recently as part of the S&K Group to help owners put land like this to use. A free appraisal shows whether your side or corner plot could take a home. After that, you decide: sell it and stay in your house, or keep it and have the home designed and built for you.

New detached brick house on a corner plot beside an older semi-detached house
Nation
England
National planning policy
NPPF
Planning authorities
5
City
Newcastle upon Tyne

Tyne and Wear: the planning picture

Covenants are common on estate corner plots, in Tyne and Wear as elsewhere. Some were written to keep corners open or limit each plot to one house, and they still bind the land today unless released or modified. Options include indemnity insurance, agreement with whoever benefits, or an application to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber). Your lender must also agree to release the plot. We read the title documents during the appraisal, so you know about any restriction before paying for designs.

Planning authorities covering Tyne and Wear include Gateshead Council, Newcastle City Council, North Tyneside Council, South Tyneside Council, Sunderland City Council.

How it works

  1. Free plot appraisal

    We look at your plot on maps, the title plan and street views, check planning history nearby and talk it through with you. If a home beside yours looks possible we visit. No cost, no obligation.

  2. Read the street

    We measure the plot and record the building line, the gaps between houses, roof heights, materials and boundary walls, then check where a new drive could go and what drivers would be able to see from it.

  3. Choose your route

    Sell the plot outright, sell it subject to planning, or grant an option while you keep your house. Or keep the land and have us design, get planning for and build a new home on it.

  4. Design and planning

    We draw a home that sits in the street rather than fighting it, usually take pre-application advice, and submit the application. The council consults neighbours and decides; small schemes often take a few months.

  5. Sale or build

    For a sale, your solicitor handles the transfer of part and any release from your lender. For a build, a written quote follows design and survey, then we build, arrange the warranty and hand over.

Corner and side plots in towns across Tyne and Wear

Questions about corner and side plots in Tyne and Wear

Are corner plots easier to develop than back gardens in Tyne and Wear?

Often, because a new home on a corner or side plot usually has its own frontage and drive. But the council will look closely at the street scene, the building line and visibility at the junction. Some corners were designed to stay open, and that can count against a new home.

Do you assess corner and side plots in Tyne and Wear?

Yes, anywhere in Tyne and Wear; we cover the whole of England and Wales. A few photos of the side of your house and the street, plus your address, are enough for us to run a free desktop check and tell you whether a visit makes sense.

Can I sell a side plot in Tyne and Wear without planning?

Yes. A direct purchase can happen before any permission exists, on the usual basis of survey, title and contract. Alternatively, a sale subject to planning lets us fund the application in the normal way, and if the council refuses, the land stays yours. Your free appraisal sets out which suits your plot.

Do I need my own solicitor to sell a plot in Tyne and Wear?

Yes, always. Your solicitor checks the contract, deals with the transfer of part at HM Land Registry and asks your mortgage lender to release the plot if the house is mortgaged. On option and promotion agreements we cover your reasonable legal fees, with the cap agreed in heads of terms before work starts.

Other options in Tyne and Wear

Everything we cover in Tyne and Wear

Find out what your garden could become

Free garden plot appraisal. No cost, no obligation, and a straight answer if it won’t work.