- Planning authority
- Wigan Council
- Postcodes
- WN7
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 37°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.8 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Greater Manchester
What the council will look at in Leigh
A combined site in Leigh goes to Wigan Council as one application, judged against the council’s Local Plan and national policy. The council will look at the scheme as a whole: whether one access is safe, whether the layout respects the pattern of the street and gardens around it, and whether every existing home keeps enough privacy, daylight and garden.
That’s a stronger position than several separate applications for single plots, each judged on its own and each with its own drive. It isn’t a guarantee, but it gives the council a scheme it can assess fairly.
How we’d take it forward in Leigh
The steps for neighbours in Leigh 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.
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
- If the garden providing the access drops out before signing, the whole scheme may not work.
- 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.
Leigh: questions to ask
Does each Leigh 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.
Can neighbours in Leigh 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. Wigan Council decides any planning application on its merits.
Who gets more if one garden in Leigh 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.
Who pays for planning on combined gardens in Leigh?
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 Leigh
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Bungalows on large plots
- Garage courts and yards
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Corner and side plots
- Joint venture on your garden plot