Backland Development
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Combine back gardens with your neighbours in Sandhurst

Talking to the neighbours is usually the first hurdle in Sandhurst, not planning. Some owners are keen, some need time, and some will never want to take part. A combined scheme only needs the gardens that make a workable site, and the one that provides the access matters most.

We can help with that conversation if you’d like, explaining the scheme and the routes plainly to everyone. We never approach your neighbours without your agreement. Each owner keeps their house, signs nothing until they’ve had their own legal advice, and can decide not to take part.

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Aerial view of a row of semi-detached houses whose garden ends have been combined into one plot with a new access
Planning authority
Bracknell Forest Council
Postcodes
GU47
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.3 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Berkshire

Before you decide in Sandhurst

Overlooking decides many garden schemes in Sandhurst. With the noon sun at about 39° in late March, when a 5 m eaves line casts shade around 6.3 m deep, and with back windows facing in several directions, space matters.

On a combined site there’s room to turn the new homes, use single-storey elements near boundaries, and keep upstairs windows away from neighbours. Many councils use separation guides of around 21 metres between facing back windows, and around 12 to 15 metres from a back window to a blank side wall. Bracknell Forest Council’s own guide decides.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Sandhurst: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.3 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 18.4 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Sandhurst on 21 March sits about 39° 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.

How we’d take it forward in Sandhurst

To start, send us the addresses of the gardens involved in Sandhurst, or just your own if the neighbours haven’t been asked yet. We run a free desk-based check of the titles, access options and planning position, then explain in writing whether a combined scheme looks realistic before anyone talks to the neighbours in detail.

  1. Free appraisal of the combined land

    We look at all the titles together, the possible access points, the surrounding homes and the planning policies that apply, then explain whether a combined scheme looks realistic and roughly what it might allow.

  2. Meet the neighbours

    We meet the owners together or separately, explain how the scheme and the routes work, and answer questions. We don’t approach your neighbours without your agreement, and nobody is committed at this stage.

  3. Collaboration agreement

    Each owner’s own solicitor reviews the documents, and everyone signs a collaboration agreement alongside the sale, option or promotion agreement. Mortgage lenders are asked to consent early, and the agreements are usually protected on each title.

  4. One planning application

    We prepare and submit a single application for the whole site, with one shared access and a layout designed around all the existing homes. The council decides it, and nobody can promise the result.

Worth checking early

  • Several owners have to agree, so a combined scheme usually takes longer to set up than a single plot.
  • Planning is still the council’s decision; a combined scheme is often stronger, but it can still be refused.
  • If the garden providing the access drops out before signing, the whole scheme may not work.

Your questions, answered for Sandhurst

How many neighbours in Sandhurst need to take part?

As few as two can be enough. What matters is that the gardens taking part make a workable site and that one of them provides access to the road. We tell you which gardens are essential and which would simply improve the scheme.

Can neighbours in Sandhurst combine their back gardens for new homes?

Yes, where the gardens adjoin and there’s a workable access. Each owner keeps their house, the land behind is planned as one site, and a collaboration agreement sets out how the value is shared. Bracknell Forest Council decides any planning application on its merits.

What if one neighbour in Sandhurst changes their mind?

Before signing, they can simply step back, and we see whether the scheme still works without their garden. After signing, the agreements decide what happens, and they usually bind whoever owns the house next. Your solicitor will check those clauses carefully.

Will Bracknell Forest Council prefer a combined scheme to single plots in Sandhurst?

It often gives the council a better scheme to assess, with one proper access and more space between homes. But every application is judged on its merits against the council’s Local Plan, and the decision is the council’s. We test the layout against its policies before applying.

Other options in Sandhurst

Combine neighbours’ gardens near Sandhurst

Find out what your garden could become

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