Combine back gardens with your neighbours in Nottinghamshire

Neighbours in Nottinghamshire with long back gardens can often achieve together what none of them could manage alone. By putting the far ends of adjoining gardens into one site, owners can share a single access road, give the new homes more breathing space, and present the council with one properly planned scheme instead of several cramped ones.

Each owner keeps their house. A collaboration agreement sets out how the value is divided, including a fair return for whichever garden provides the access, and every owner takes advice from their own solicitor before signing.

Aerial view of a row of semi-detached houses whose garden ends have been combined into one plot with a new access
Nation
England
National planning policy
NPPF
Planning authorities
8
City
Nottingham

Nottinghamshire: the planning picture

A combined site in Nottinghamshire brings some extra checks that a single garden doesn’t. With more land and more homes, the scheme has to show how it meets biodiversity net gain rules, and drainage needs planning across the whole site, which in practice means a drainage plan the council will want to see. Trees along old garden boundaries are common, and any protected by a Tree Preservation Order need consent before work. These checks are easier to plan for once, across one site, than garden by garden.

Planning authorities covering Nottinghamshire include Ashfield District Council, Bassetlaw District Council, Broxtowe Borough Council, Gedling Borough Council, Mansfield District Council, Newark and Sherwood District Council, Nottingham City Council, Rushcliffe Borough Council.

How it works

  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. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

Combine neighbours’ gardens in towns across Nottinghamshire

Questions about combine neighbours’ gardens in Nottinghamshire

Do you help neighbours combine gardens in Nottinghamshire?

Yes. We cover Nottinghamshire as part of our coverage of England and Wales. We appraise the combined land free of charge, explain the routes open to the group, and set out how value would be shared before anyone commits.

Which councils decide combined garden schemes in Nottinghamshire?

The local planning authority for the address decides, and the authorities serving Nottinghamshire include Ashfield District Council, Bassetlaw District Council, Broxtowe Borough Council, Gedling Borough Council, Mansfield District Council and other councils. Each applies the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) with its own Local Plan. A combined site goes in as one application to whichever council covers the land.

What legal checks apply to combined gardens in Nottinghamshire?

Every title is checked for mortgages, restrictive covenants and rights of way, and each lender must agree to release the land it holds as security. Each owner has their own solicitor, and the agreements are usually protected on each title.

How long does planning take for a garden plot in Nottinghamshire?

The council usually has eight weeks from validation to decide a small application, though extensions are often agreed, and the whole process takes longer. Surveys, design work, pre-application advice and amendments all add time, and some ecology surveys can only be done at certain times of year. We’ll give you a realistic timetable for your plot rather than a promise.

Other options in Nottinghamshire

Everything we cover in Nottinghamshire

Find out what your garden could become

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