- Planning authority
- Castle Point Borough Council
- Postcodes
- SS7
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.3 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Essex
Hadleigh: light, access and policy
Back gardens in SS7, as anywhere, tend to be divided by fences, hedges and the odd tree, and a combined scheme has to work with all of them. Old boundary hedges may be habitat worth keeping, and mature trees may need an assessment before anything is designed.
We map these features across all the gardens at once, so the layout keeps what matters and the application to Castle Point Borough Council shows how trees and wildlife have been considered. Doing it across the whole site is simpler and cheaper than doing it garden by garden.
From first call to decision
The steps for neighbours in Hadleigh 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.
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.
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
- Several owners have to agree, so a combined scheme usually takes longer to set up than a single plot.
- 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.
Your questions, answered for Hadleigh
Can neighbours in Hadleigh 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. Castle Point Borough Council decides any planning application on its merits.
Who gets more if one garden in Hadleigh 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 Hadleigh?
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.
Does each Hadleigh 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.
Other options in Hadleigh
- Build a new home in your garden
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Sell part of your garden
- Garage courts and yards