Backland Development
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Combine back gardens with your neighbours in Bridgend

Helping neighbours in Bridgend combine their gardens is one of the routes offered by Backland Development, a new brand within the S&K Group. It suits streets where the land behind the houses is generous but access is limited, and where the neighbours would rather share one good scheme than compete with several poor ones.

We appraise the combined land, meet the owners if they want us to, and set out the routes: a sale, a sale subject to planning, an option, promotion or a joint venture. The collaboration agreement then ties it all together, and each owner’s solicitor checks it before anyone signs.

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Aerial view of a row of semi-detached houses whose garden ends have been combined into one plot with a new access
Planning authority
Bridgend County Borough Council
Postcodes
CF31, CF32, CF35
Noon sun, 21 March
About 38°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.3 m
Planning plan
LDP
County
Mid Glamorgan

The local picture in Bridgend

A combined site in Bridgend goes to Bridgend County Borough Council as one application, judged against the council’s Local Development Plan (LDP) 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 Bridgend: 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 18.6 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Bridgend 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.

From first call to decision

Nothing happens without every owner’s agreement. If you’re in Bridgend 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. 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

  • Tax depends on each owner’s circumstances, so each should take advice from a tax adviser.
  • If the garden providing the access drops out before signing, the whole scheme may not work.
  • The owner of the access garden will live beside a shared road, which is why that garden often receives an extra share.

Bridgend: questions to ask

Who pays for planning on combined gardens in Bridgend?

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 Bridgend County Borough Council prefer a combined scheme to single plots in Bridgend?

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.

Do we each need a solicitor for a combined scheme in Bridgend?

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.

What if one neighbour in Bridgend 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.

Other options in Bridgend

Combine neighbours’ gardens near Bridgend

Find out what your garden could become

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

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