Combine back gardens with your neighbours in Gloucestershire

Most backland plots have the same weak point: getting in. A garden with no road frontage of its own depends on a route past a house, and often only one household on a stretch of road has the width to provide it.

Combining gardens in Gloucestershire turns that weakness into the scheme’s starting point. The owner with the wider side garden or garage provides the access, the neighbours behind provide the land, and an equalisation agreement shares the value so nobody is shortchanged by where the road ends up. Each owner keeps their house and has their own solicitor.

Aerial view of a row of semi-detached houses whose garden ends have been combined into one plot with a new access
Nation
England
National planning policy
NPPF
Planning authorities
7
City
Gloucester

Gloucestershire: the planning picture

Some neighbours in Gloucestershire already know which garden could provide the access, perhaps a wide side plot, a corner house or a garage that could come down. Others don’t. Either way, we start by mapping the possible routes in, the width each offers and the effect on the homes either side, because the access decides how many gardens can join and how the value will need to be shared between them.

Planning authorities covering Gloucestershire include Cheltenham Borough Council, Cotswold District Council, Forest of Dean District Council, Gloucester City Council, South Gloucestershire Council, Stroud District Council, Tewkesbury Borough Council.

How it works

  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. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

Combine neighbours’ gardens in towns across Gloucestershire

Questions about combine neighbours’ gardens in Gloucestershire

Do you help neighbours combine gardens in Gloucestershire?

Yes. We cover Gloucestershire as part of our coverage of England and Wales. We appraise the combined land free of charge, explain the routes open to the group, and set out how value would be shared before anyone commits.

Is a shared access road allowed on garden schemes in Gloucestershire?

Shared access roads are common on backland schemes, but each council judges width, visibility and the effect on neighbours. The scheme must also allow for fire engine access (or other measures, often sprinklers, agreed with building control and the fire service where a fire engine can’t get close enough), and bins have to be collected within a sensible distance. We check access first at every appraisal.

What legal checks apply to combined gardens in Gloucestershire?

Every title is checked for mortgages, restrictive covenants and rights of way, and each lender must agree to release the land it holds as security. Each owner has their own solicitor, and the agreements are usually protected on each title.

Can you build a new home in my garden in Gloucestershire for me to keep?

Yes. Through our design and build route we survey your plot, design a new home with you, apply for planning and, once permission is granted, build it. You keep the land and the new home, to sell, let or use for family. You get a written quote after design and survey, and any earlier guide price is a guide only.

Other options in Gloucestershire

Everything we cover in Gloucestershire

Find out what your garden could become

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