Backland Development
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Combine back gardens with your neighbours in Ely

Helping neighbours in Ely combine their gardens is one of the routes offered by Backland Development, a new brand within the S&K Group. It suits streets where the land behind the houses is generous but access is limited, and where the neighbours would rather share one good scheme than compete with several poor ones.

We appraise the combined land, meet the owners if they want us to, and set out the routes: a sale, a sale subject to planning, an option, promotion or a joint venture. The collaboration agreement then ties it all together, and each owner’s solicitor checks it before anyone signs.

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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
East Cambridgeshire District Council
Postcodes
CB7
Noon sun, 21 March
About 38°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.5 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Cambridgeshire

Before you decide in Ely

A combined site in Ely goes to East Cambridgeshire District Council as one application, judged against the council’s Local Plan and national policy. The council will look at the scheme as a whole: whether one access is safe, whether the layout respects the pattern of the street and gardens around it, and whether every existing home keeps enough privacy, daylight and garden.

That’s a stronger position than several separate applications for single plots, each judged on its own and each with its own drive. It isn’t a guarantee, but it gives the council a scheme it can assess fairly.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Ely: about 38 degrees on 21 March and 14 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 38°, shadow 6.5 m21 Dec, noon: sun 14°, shadow 19.8 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Ely on 21 March sits about 38° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.5 m. In December the sun is only about 14° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

What happens next in Ely

The steps for neighbours in Ely are: free appraisal, a meeting with the owners, heads of terms, signed agreements, one planning application, then completion and payment of each owner’s share. Setting up a group takes longer than a single plot, and timing depends on the owners, the lenders and the council, so we give ranges rather than promises.

  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. 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.

  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

  • Every owner’s mortgage lender, title and covenants have to be dealt with, and one problem can hold up everyone.
  • Planning is still the council’s decision; a combined scheme is often stronger, but it can still be refused.
  • The owner of the access garden will live beside a shared road, which is why that garden often receives an extra share.

Ely: questions to ask

Who gets more if one garden in Ely provides the access?

Usually the owner of the access garden receives an extra agreed share, because their land makes the scheme possible and their house is most affected by passing cars. The exact method is agreed by everyone in the collaboration agreement before planning starts.

Will East Cambridgeshire District Council prefer a combined scheme to single plots in Ely?

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.

Do we each need a solicitor for a combined scheme in Ely?

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.

How many neighbours in Ely 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.

Other options in Ely

Combine neighbours’ gardens near Ely

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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