Backland Development
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Combine back gardens with your neighbours in Hove

Neighbours in Hove 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.

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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
Brighton and Hove City Council
Postcodes
BN3, BN41
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.1 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
East Sussex

Before you decide in Hove

A combined scheme in Hove has a wider pool of buyers than a single plot. Once the land has planning, it can be offered to builders and developers working in Hove and nearby places such as Brighton, Shoreham-by-Sea and Lancing, or further afield, who are often more interested in a site for several homes than in one small plot.

If the neighbours choose a sale with planning, the collaboration agreement sets out how a buyer is agreed. If we buy the site, the price is set by the route chosen. Value depends on location, size, access and the permission Brighton and Hove City Council grants, so we don’t quote figures before an appraisal.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Hove: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 16 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.1 m21 Dec, noon: sun 16°, shadow 17.8 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Hove: around 39° of sun at midday in late March and about 16° 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.

From first call to decision

Once the group is interested, we meet the owners, together or one by one, and set out the routes and how equalisation would work. Heads of terms follow. Each owner’s own solicitor reviews the collaboration agreement and the sale, option or promotion documents, and lenders are asked to consent early. Then the single application goes to Brighton and Hove City Council.

  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

  • The owner of the access garden will live beside a shared road, which is why that garden often receives an extra share.
  • If the garden providing the access drops out before signing, the whole scheme may not work.
  • Tax depends on each owner’s circumstances, so each should take advice from a tax adviser.

Hove: questions to ask

Who gets more if one garden in Hove 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 Brighton and Hove City Council prefer a combined scheme to single plots in Hove?

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.

What if one neighbour in Hove changes their mind?

Before signing, they can simply step back, and we see whether the scheme still works without their garden. After signing, the agreements decide what happens, and they usually bind whoever owns the house next. Your solicitor will check those clauses carefully.

Who pays for planning on combined gardens in Hove?

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.

Other options in Hove

Combine neighbours’ gardens near Hove

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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