- Planning authority
- Milton Keynes City Council
- Postcodes
- MK5, MK6, MK8, MK9, MK13
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.4 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Buckinghamshire
What the council will look at in Milton Keynes
Back gardens in MK5, MK6, MK8 and MK9, as anywhere, tend to be divided by fences, hedges and the odd tree, and a combined scheme has to work with all of them. Old boundary hedges may be habitat worth keeping, and mature trees may need an assessment before anything is designed.
We map these features across all the gardens at once, so the layout keeps what matters and the application to Milton Keynes City Council shows how trees and wildlife have been considered. Doing it across the whole site is simpler and cheaper than doing it garden by garden.
The next steps, locally
To start, send us the addresses of the gardens involved in Milton Keynes, 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.
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.
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.
Agree how value is shared
Heads of terms set out the route, each owner’s share, any extra for the garden providing the access, what happens if someone drops out, and the cap on each owner’s reasonable legal fees where it applies.
Completion and shares paid
When the site is sold with planning, or bought by us as agreed, each owner transfers their part, and the proceeds are divided through the solicitors exactly as the collaboration agreement sets out.
Worth checking early
- Tax depends on each owner’s circumstances, so each should take advice from a tax adviser.
- If the garden providing the access drops out before signing, the whole scheme may not work.
- The owner of the access garden will live beside a shared road, which is why that garden often receives an extra share.
Questions about garden plots in Milton Keynes
Does each Milton Keynes owner keep their own house and garden?
Yes. Each owner keeps their house and an agreed garden for it. Only the land behind is transferred, as a transfer of part at HM Land Registry. New boundaries and fencing for each house are agreed as part of the design.
Will Milton Keynes City Council prefer a combined scheme to single plots in Milton Keynes?
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.
Can neighbours in Milton Keynes 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. Milton Keynes City Council decides any planning application on its merits.
Do we each need a solicitor for a combined scheme in Milton Keynes?
Yes. Each owner has different interests, a different title and possibly a mortgage, so each needs independent advice. On option and promotion agreements we cover each owner’s reasonable legal fees up to the cap agreed in the heads of terms.
Other options in Milton Keynes
- Sell subject to planning
- Large rear gardens
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Garage courts and yards
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Garden plot option agreement