- Planning authority
- Tendring District Council
- Postcodes
- CO12
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.4 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Essex
Harwich: light, access and policy
Overlooking decides many garden schemes in Harwich. With the noon sun at about 38° in late March, when a 5 m eaves line casts shade around 6.4 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. Tendring District Council’s own guide decides.
What happens next in Harwich
Nothing happens without every owner’s agreement. If you’re in Harwich 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.
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.
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
- Every owner’s mortgage lender, title and covenants have to be dealt with, and one problem can hold up everyone.
- Planning is still the council’s decision; a combined scheme is often stronger, but it can still be refused.
- Tax depends on each owner’s circumstances, so each should take advice from a tax adviser.
Harwich: questions to ask
Who pays for planning on combined gardens in Harwich?
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.
Can neighbours in Harwich 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. Tendring District Council decides any planning application on its merits.
Who gets more if one garden in Harwich 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.
What if one neighbour in Harwich 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.
Other options in Harwich
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Garden plot option agreement
- Corner and side plots
- Plot feasibility and design