Combine back gardens with your neighbours in Nelson, Gwent

If your back garden in Nelson is long but has no way in from the road, your neighbours may hold the answer. Combining the far ends of adjoining gardens creates one site with one shared access, which can turn several unusable strips into a scheme Caerphilly County Borough Council can properly consider.

Each owner keeps their house and a garden for it. A collaboration agreement sets out how the proceeds are shared, including an agreed extra for the garden that gives the access, and every owner has their own solicitor. Our appraisal of the combined land is free.

Aerial view of a row of semi-detached houses whose garden ends have been combined into one plot with a new access
Planning authority
Caerphilly County Borough Council
Postcodes
CF46
Noon sun, 21 March
About 38°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.3 m
Planning plan
LDP
County
Gwent

How it plays out in Nelson, Gwent

Back gardens in CF46, 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 Caerphilly County 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.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Nelson: about 38 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 38°, shadow 6.3 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 18.8 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Nelson on 21 March sits about 38° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.3 m. In December the sun is only about 15° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

The next steps, locally

To start, send us the addresses of the gardens involved in Nelson, or just your own if the neighbours haven’t been asked yet. We run a free desk-based check of the titles, access options and planning position, then explain in writing whether a combined scheme looks realistic before anyone talks to the neighbours in detail.

  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. 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.

  4. 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.
  • Tax depends on each owner’s circumstances, so each should take advice from a tax adviser.
  • Several owners have to agree, so a combined scheme usually takes longer to set up than a single plot.

Questions about garden plots in Nelson, Gwent

Who gets more if one garden in Nelson 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.

How many neighbours in Nelson need to take part?

As few as two can be enough. What matters is that the gardens taking part make a workable site and that one of them provides access to the road. We tell you which gardens are essential and which would simply improve the scheme.

Can neighbours in Nelson 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. Caerphilly County Borough Council decides any planning application on its merits.

Will Caerphilly County Borough Council prefer a combined scheme to single plots in Nelson?

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 Development Plan (LDP), and the decision is the council’s. We test the layout against its policies before applying.

Other options in Nelson

Combine neighbours’ gardens near Nelson

Find out what your garden could become

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