- Planning authority
- Huntingdonshire District Council
- Postcodes
- PE27
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.5 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Cambridgeshire
St Ives: light, access and policy
Overlooking decides many garden schemes in St Ives. With the noon sun at about 38° in late March, when a 5 m eaves line casts shade around 6.5 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. Huntingdonshire District Council’s own guide decides.
From first call to decision
Nothing happens without every owner’s agreement. If you’re in St Ives and think the gardens on your side of the street could work together, call us or use the form. We’ll look at the land first, tell you plainly whether it’s worth pursuing, and only then discuss approaching the other owners, with your say-so and in the way you prefer.
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.
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
- Tax depends on each owner’s circumstances, so each should take advice from a tax adviser.
- Every owner’s mortgage lender, title and covenants have to be dealt with, and one problem can hold up everyone.
- If the garden providing the access drops out before signing, the whole scheme may not work.
St Ives: questions to ask
How many neighbours in St Ives 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 St Ives 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. Huntingdonshire District Council decides any planning application on its merits.
Does each St Ives 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.
Do we each need a solicitor for a combined scheme in St Ives?
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 St Ives
- Corner and side plots
- Large rear gardens
- Bungalows on large plots
- Build a new home in your garden
- Sell subject to planning
- Garage courts and yards