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Tandem and landlocked plots in Loughborough

Plots behind houses in Loughborough with narrow, shared or missing access are easy to give up on too early. The land may be ideal, with the way in the only obstacle. Sometimes that obstacle is a ransom strip; sometimes it’s a right of way written decades ago for a garage or a field.

Backland Development is new, part of the S&K Group, and we’ll be straight with you about whether the access can be solved. If it can, we explain the routes, from a direct sale to a design and build, and what each would involve with Charnwood Borough Council.

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Narrow gravel drive running between two brick houses to an open gate and a garden plot behind
Planning authority
Charnwood Borough Council
Postcodes
LE11, LE12
Noon sun, 21 March
About 37°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.6 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Leicestershire

Loughborough: light, access and policy

When Charnwood Borough Council looks at a tandem plot, the first questions are usually about the drive: how close cars come to the front house’s windows, whether headlights will sweep across rooms at night, and whether the junction with the road is safe. Planning policy in the council’s Local Plan sets the tests, and design guidance fills in the detail.

Daylight matters too. With the late-March sun climbing to just 37° at midday in Loughborough, an eaves line 5 metres up on the new home would throw shade roughly 6.6 m across the ground beside it. Keeping the new home low or well back protects the gardens on both sides.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Loughborough: about 37 degrees on 21 March and 14 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 37°, shadow 6.6 m21 Dec, noon: sun 14°, shadow 20.4 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Loughborough: around 37° of sun at midday in late March and about 14° at midwinter. It shows why the gap between your house and a new home behind it is about light as well as privacy. Garden assumed to face north.

The next steps, locally

We take a Loughborough plot with tricky access forward in three stages. First the legal access, confirmed with your solicitor. Then a layout that answers the questions Charnwood Borough Council asks about tandem and backland homes. Then the route you chose, whether that’s a sale, an option or a build. You can stop at any stage before signing.

  1. Free plot appraisal

    We start with the access, not the plot: title plans, rights of way, the width on the ground and the route to the road. It’s a desktop check and a conversation, with a site visit if it looks viable, at no cost.

  2. Title and access check

    With your solicitor we confirm who owns every strip between the plot and the road, what rights already exist and whether they cover a new home. Any ransom strip or missing right shows up at this stage.

  3. Secure the way in

    If a right of way needs widening, a strip needs buying or a neighbour needs to come in, we agree the approach with you and negotiate it, so the terms are settled before planning money is spent.

  4. Sale or build

    Depending on the route you chose, the sale completes through a transfer of part, or you keep the land and we give a written quote for building the new home after design and survey.

Worth checking early

  • Tandem layouts affect the front house’s privacy and quiet, and councils weigh that carefully.
  • Buying out a ransom strip or a neighbour’s land costs money and time, and the other owner can say no.
  • Planning permission gives no right to cross land you don’t own; the legal access has to be secured separately.

Questions about garden plots in Loughborough

How do I find out if a lane behind my Loughborough home is a public road?

The highway authority keeps a list of streets maintained at public expense, and anyone can inspect it free of charge. If the lane isn’t on it, it’s probably private, and you’ll need to know who owns it and whether your title gives a vehicle right of way that would cover a new home.

Will Charnwood Borough Council accept a shared drive for a new home in Loughborough?

It can, but shared drives are looked at closely. The council will consider the width, visibility at the road, the effect on the house beside the drive, and whether fire and bin access work. A drive with a clear gap from windows and screening alongside generally fares better.

Can I build behind my house in Loughborough if the only way in is my drive?

Possibly. That would be a tandem layout, with the new home behind yours sharing your drive. Charnwood Borough Council will look at the effect of cars passing your house, privacy, garden space and whether it suits the area. Fire and bin access also need checking. The decision is the council’s, and a good design improves the odds.

Is a sprinkler system needed for a home at the end of a long drive in Loughborough?

It may be. In England, where a fire engine can’t get within 45 metres of all points inside the home, other measures, often sprinklers, may be accepted if building control and the fire service agree. In Wales, every new house needs sprinklers anyway. Building control decides what’s needed for the specific layout.

Other options in Loughborough

Tandem and landlocked plots near Loughborough

Find out what your garden could become

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

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