Backland Development
0800 088 6248Free to call Free plot appraisal

New homes on garage courts and yards in Tower Hamlets

Garage courts often fall out of use quietly, in Tower Hamlets as elsewhere. Cars have grown too big for many older garages, roofs leak and lock-ups end up storing furniture. For the owner, that can mean falling rent, rising repairs and a site that might be worth more as homes.

Our free appraisal tells you whether that is realistic. We look at the lane, tenancies, neighbours’ rights, asbestos and the ground, then sketch what could fit. Then you decide whether to sell the site as it stands, sell it subject to planning, or keep it and have new homes designed and built for you.

Get a free appraisalCheck my garden
Row of old lock-up garages in a tarmac court behind a terrace of brick houses
Planning authority
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Postcodes
E1, E1W, E3, E14
Noon sun, 21 March
About 38°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.3 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Greater London

The local picture in Tower Hamlets

Garage blocks behind homes vary from a few lock-ups off a short drive to long courts serving whole streets, and a site in E1, E1W, E3 and E14 could be either. The size of the site, the width of the lane and how many neighbours back onto it decide what could fit, not the number of garages.

Owners just outside Tower Hamlets, in places like Hackney, Newham and Southwark, face the same questions. We look at the lane, the rights over it and the distance to neighbouring windows first, then sketch options from a single home to a small group.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Tower Hamlets: about 38 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 38°, shadow 6.3 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 18.6 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Tower Hamlets on 21 March sits about 38° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.3 m. In December the sun is only about 15° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

From first call to decision

Here’s what happens after you contact us about a garage site in Tower Hamlets. We look at the title plan, maps and the planning history, then call you to talk through who uses the garages and the lane. If the site looks viable we visit, check access, buildings and neighbours, and send a plain summary of the options, with no obligation.

  1. Free site appraisal

    We look at the site on maps, the title plan and the planning history, then talk through who uses it now. If it looks workable we visit. There’s no cost and no obligation.

  2. Rights and title review

    We map who has rights over the court and lane, which garages are let and on what terms, and whether any covenants, charges or strips of land you don’t own could block a scheme.

  3. Choose your route

    Sell the site outright or subject to planning, grant an option, or keep it and have us design, get planning for and build. Garage tenancies and licences are ended properly before any work starts.

  4. Planning, then sale or build

    We prepare and submit the application and the council decides. If you sell, your solicitor handles the transfer. If you build, a written quote follows design and survey, then demolition and construction.

Worth checking early

  • Rights of way over the court or lane can limit what you can build, and some arise from long use rather than the title.
  • A narrow or unadopted lane can restrict the number of homes, or require sprinklers, a turning space or bin collection point.
  • Neighbours whose gardens back onto the court are consulted and may object; the council decides.

Your questions, answered for Tower Hamlets

Can I build houses on my garage block in Tower Hamlets?

Possibly, if the lane works for cars, bins and emergency access, neighbours’ privacy and light are protected, and rights over the site can be dealt with. Homes there need planning permission, which is the London Borough of Tower Hamlets’s decision. A free appraisal shows whether the site merits going further.

Will you buy my garages in Tower Hamlets with tenants in them?

Possibly. Any purchase is subject to survey, title and contract, with or without planning in place. Existing tenancies and licences must be brought to an end properly under their own terms, and when that happens forms part of the agreed deal. Get legal advice before any notice is served.

Who has the final say on a Tower Hamlets garage court scheme?

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets, as the local planning authority. Officers weigh the scheme against the council’s Local Plan and national policy, plus highways and design guidance, after hearing from neighbours and the highway authority. We put the application together and answer the officer’s questions, yet the verdict is never ours to give.

Can you build homes on my yard in Tower Hamlets if I keep it?

Yes. You keep ownership while we handle the lot: surveys, demolition of the old buildings, design, the planning application, construction and the structural warranty that buyers’ lenders tend to need. A written quote is given once design and survey are complete; guide prices before then are only guides.

Other options in Tower Hamlets

Garage courts and yards near Tower Hamlets

Find out what your garden could become

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

Get my free appraisal 0800 088 6248