- Planning authority
- Test Valley Borough Council
- Postcodes
- SP10, SP11
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.2 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Hampshire
How it plays out in Andover
Shadow is one reason combined gardens in Andover 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.
How we’d take it forward in Andover
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 Test Valley 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.
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
- 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.
- Every owner’s mortgage lender, title and covenants have to be dealt with, and one problem can hold up everyone.
Your questions, answered for Andover
What if one neighbour in Andover 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.
Who gets more if one garden in Andover 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.
Do we each need a solicitor for a combined scheme in Andover?
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.
Who pays for planning on combined gardens in Andover?
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 Andover
- Sell part of your garden
- Plot feasibility and design
- Corner and side plots
- Bungalows on large plots
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Tandem and landlocked plots