Combine back gardens with your neighbours in Mountain Ash

If your back garden in Mountain Ash 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 Rhondda Cynon Taf 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
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council
Postcodes
CF45
Noon sun, 21 March
About 38°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.3 m
Planning plan
LDP
County
Mid Glamorgan

Mountain Ash: light, access and policy

Back gardens in CF45, 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 Rhondda Cynon Taf 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 Mountain Ash: 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 Mountain Ash 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.

What happens next in Mountain Ash

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

Worth checking early

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

Mountain Ash: questions to ask

Who pays for planning on combined gardens in Mountain Ash?

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.

Can neighbours in Mountain Ash 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. Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council decides any planning application on its merits.

Does each Mountain Ash 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.

How many neighbours in Mountain Ash 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.

Other options in Mountain Ash

Combine neighbours’ gardens near Mountain Ash

Find out what your garden could become

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