Combine back gardens with your neighbours in Wisbech

Neighbours in Wisbech sometimes find that one garden alone is too narrow, too short or too hard to reach, while the land behind several houses together would make a sensible site for new homes. That’s land assembly on a small scale.

We can look at the gardens as one site, show the group what a combined layout might allow, and explain how value is shared fairly through equalisation. Nobody has to commit until they’ve taken their own advice. If a single garden works perfectly well on its own, with its own route to the road, we’ll tell you that too.

Aerial view of a row of semi-detached houses whose garden ends have been combined into one plot with a new access
Planning authority
Fenland District Council
Postcodes
PE13
Noon sun, 21 March
About 37°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.6 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Cambridgeshire

Before you decide in Wisbech

Shadow is one reason combined gardens in Wisbech often work better. On 21 March the midday sun reaches roughly 37°, enough for a 5 m eaves line to shade about 6.6 m of ground, and by midwinter, at about 14°, the shade runs much further.

On one narrow garden, a new home can end up close to the houses on every side. On a combined site, the new homes can sit towards the middle, with gardens around them, and the shadows they cast fall mostly on their own land.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Wisbech: 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 20.2 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Wisbech: 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

Nothing happens without every owner’s agreement. If you’re in Wisbech 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.

  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. 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.

  4. 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

  • The owner of the access garden will live beside a shared road, which is why that garden often receives an extra share.
  • 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.

Wisbech: questions to ask

How many neighbours in Wisbech 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.

Will Fenland District Council prefer a combined scheme to single plots in Wisbech?

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.

Who pays for planning on combined gardens in Wisbech?

It depends on the route. On a sale subject to planning, we normally fund the application. On planning promotion, nothing is paid upfront and costs are recovered from the proceeds only if a sale with planning happens. On an outright sale, we buy the land as it stands.

Who gets more if one garden in Wisbech 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.

Other options in Wisbech

Combine neighbours’ gardens near Wisbech

Find out what your garden could become

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