- Nation
- Wales
- National planning policy
- Planning Policy Wales
- Planning authorities
- 2
- City
- Cardiff
South Glamorgan: the planning picture
Councils across South Glamorgan judge a combined garden scheme on the same tests as any backland plot: access, character, privacy, daylight, garden space, trees, parking, bins and drainage. A larger site helps with several of these at once. New homes can sit further from existing windows, and many councils work to a separation guide of around 21 metres between back windows that face each other, though the guide your council uses is what counts. One wider access can also handle cars, bins and emergency vehicles properly.
Planning authorities covering South Glamorgan include Cardiff Council, Vale of Glamorgan Council.
How it works
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.
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.
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.
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 South Glamorgan
Questions about combine neighbours’ gardens in South Glamorgan
Which councils decide combined garden schemes in South Glamorgan?
The local planning authority for the address decides, and the authorities serving South Glamorgan include Cardiff Council and Vale of Glamorgan Council. Each applies Planning Policy Wales (PPW) with its own LDP. A combined site goes in as one application to whichever council covers the land.
What legal checks apply to combined gardens in South Glamorgan?
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.
Can a combined garden site in South Glamorgan be sold with planning?
Yes. The neighbours can choose planning promotion, where we seek planning at our cost and the site is marketed once it is granted, or a sale subject to planning, an option, an outright sale or a joint venture. The collaboration agreement sets out how decisions about the buyer and price are made.
Do I need my own solicitor to sell a plot in South Glamorgan?
Yes, always. Your solicitor checks the contract, deals with the transfer of part at HM Land Registry and asks your mortgage lender to release the plot if the house is mortgaged. On option and promotion agreements we cover your reasonable legal fees, with the cap agreed in heads of terms before work starts.