- Planning authority
- Lake District National Park Authority
- Postcodes
- LA23
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 36°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 7.0 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Cumbria
How it plays out in Windermere
Before we suggest a combined scheme for homes in LA23, we read what the council’s Local Plan says about garden land, design and parking, and we look at past decisions on similar sites nearby. Those tell us how the council has treated backland schemes before.
If policy points against building behind the houses, combining gardens won’t change that, and we’ll say so. If it supports well-designed schemes with proper access, a combined site is often the best way to meet that standard.
From first call to decision
The steps for neighbours in Windermere 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.
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.
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.
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
- Planning is still the council’s decision; a combined scheme is often stronger, but it can still be refused.
- Several owners have to agree, so a combined scheme usually takes longer to set up than a single plot.
- If the garden providing the access drops out before signing, the whole scheme may not work.
Your questions, answered for Windermere
Can neighbours in Windermere 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. Lake District National Park Authority decides any planning application on its merits.
Who pays for planning on combined gardens in Windermere?
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 Windermere 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.
Do we each need a solicitor for a combined scheme in Windermere?
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 Windermere
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Build a new home in your garden
- Garage courts and yards
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Corner and side plots