Combine back gardens with your neighbours in Moreton

A shared access road is often what makes backland homes possible in Moreton. Instead of several narrow drives, one properly designed road with good visibility at the pavement can serve every new home on the combined land, keep cars further from existing windows and give bin lorries and emergency vehicles the room they need.

The household providing that access gives up the most, so an equalisation agreement usually gives them an extra agreed share. Every owner keeps their house and an agreed garden, and the planning application to Wirral Council covers the whole site at once rather than plot by plot.

Aerial view of a row of semi-detached houses whose garden ends have been combined into one plot with a new access
Planning authority
Wirral Council
Postcodes
CH46
Noon sun, 21 March
About 37°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.7 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Merseyside

The local picture in Moreton

A combined site in Moreton goes to Wirral 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.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Moreton: about 37 degrees on 21 March and 13 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 37°, shadow 6.7 m21 Dec, noon: sun 13°, shadow 21.4 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Moreton: around 37° of sun at midday in late March and about 13° at midwinter. It shows why the gap between your house and a new home behind it is about light as well as privacy. Garden assumed to face north.

How we’d take it forward in Moreton

Nothing happens without every owner’s agreement. If you’re in Moreton and think the gardens on your side of the street could work together, call us or use the form. We’ll look at the land first, tell you plainly whether it’s worth pursuing, and only then discuss approaching the other owners, with your say-so and in the way you prefer.

  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. 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.

  3. 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.

  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

  • Planning is still the council’s decision; a combined scheme is often stronger, but it can still be refused.
  • Every owner’s mortgage lender, title and covenants have to be dealt with, and one problem can hold up everyone.
  • If the garden providing the access drops out before signing, the whole scheme may not work.

Questions about garden plots in Moreton

Who pays for planning on combined gardens in Moreton?

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.

Will Wirral Council prefer a combined scheme to single plots in Moreton?

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

Can neighbours in Moreton 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. Wirral Council decides any planning application on its merits.

Does each Moreton 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.

Other options in Moreton

Combine neighbours’ gardens near Moreton

Find out what your garden could become

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