Combine back gardens with your neighbours in Adwick le Street

If your back garden in Adwick le Street 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 City of Doncaster 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
City of Doncaster Council
Postcodes
DN6
Noon sun, 21 March
About 36°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.8 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
South Yorkshire

Before you decide in Adwick le Street

Overlooking decides many garden schemes in Adwick le Street. With the noon sun at about 36° in late March, when a 5 m eaves line casts shade around 6.8 m deep, and with back windows facing in several directions, space matters.

On a combined site there’s room to turn the new homes, use single-storey elements near boundaries, and keep upstairs windows away from neighbours. Many councils use separation guides of around 21 metres between facing back windows, and around 12 to 15 metres from a back window to a blank side wall. City of Doncaster Council’s own guide decides.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Adwick le Street: about 36 degrees on 21 March and 13 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 36°, shadow 6.8 m21 Dec, noon: sun 13°, shadow 21.7 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Adwick le Street on 21 March sits about 36° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.8 m. In December the sun is only about 13° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

What happens next in Adwick le Street

The steps for neighbours in Adwick le Street are: free appraisal, a meeting with the owners, heads of terms, signed agreements, one planning application, then completion and payment of each owner’s share. Setting up a group takes longer than a single plot, and timing depends on the owners, the lenders and the council, so we give ranges rather than promises.

  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. 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

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

Your questions, answered for Adwick le Street

What if one neighbour in Adwick le Street 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.

Do we each need a solicitor for a combined scheme in Adwick le Street?

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.

Can neighbours in Adwick le Street 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. City of Doncaster Council decides any planning application on its merits.

How many neighbours in Adwick le Street 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 Adwick le Street

Combine neighbours’ gardens near Adwick le Street

Find out what your garden could become

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