- Planning authority
- Rushmoor Borough Council
- Postcodes
- GU11, GU12
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.2 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Hampshire
Aldershot: light, access and policy
Shadow is one reason combined gardens in Aldershot often work better. On 21 March the midday sun reaches roughly 39°, enough for a 5 m eaves line to shade about 6.2 m of ground, and by midwinter, at about 15°, the shade runs much further.
On one narrow garden, a new home can end up close to the houses on every side. On a combined site, the new homes can sit towards the middle, with gardens around them, and the shadows they cast fall mostly on their own land.
What happens next in Aldershot
Once the group is interested, we meet the owners, together or one by one, and set out the routes and how equalisation would work. Heads of terms follow. Each owner’s own solicitor reviews the collaboration agreement and the sale, option or promotion documents, and lenders are asked to consent early. Then the single application goes to Rushmoor Borough Council.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Worth checking early
- Tax depends on each owner’s circumstances, so each should take advice from a tax adviser.
- The owner of the access garden will live beside a shared road, which is why that garden often receives an extra share.
- If the garden providing the access drops out before signing, the whole scheme may not work.
Aldershot: questions to ask
How many neighbours in Aldershot 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.
Do we each need a solicitor for a combined scheme in Aldershot?
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 Aldershot 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.
Who gets more if one garden in Aldershot 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.
Other options in Aldershot
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Garage courts and yards
- Corner and side plots
- Build a new home in your garden
- Plot feasibility and design
- Large rear gardens