Backland Development
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Combine back gardens with your neighbours in Lichfield

Helping neighbours in Lichfield 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
Lichfield District Council
Postcodes
WS13, WS14
Noon sun, 21 March
About 37°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.6 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Staffordshire

How it plays out in Lichfield

A combined scheme in Lichfield has a wider pool of buyers than a single plot. Once the land has planning, it can be offered to builders and developers working in Lichfield and nearby places such as Burntwood, Tamworth and Rugeley, or further afield, who are often more interested in a site for several homes than in one small plot.

If the neighbours choose a sale with planning, the collaboration agreement sets out how a buyer is agreed. If we buy the site, the price is set by the route chosen. Value depends on location, size, access and the permission Lichfield District Council grants, so we don’t quote figures before an appraisal.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Lichfield: about 37 degrees on 21 March and 14 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 37°, shadow 6.6 m21 Dec, noon: sun 14°, shadow 20.2 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Lichfield on 21 March sits about 37° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.6 m. In December the sun is only about 14° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

What happens next in Lichfield

Once the group is interested, we meet the owners, together or one by one, and set out the routes and how equalisation would work. Heads of terms follow. Each owner’s own solicitor reviews the collaboration agreement and the sale, option or promotion documents, and lenders are asked to consent early. Then the single application goes to Lichfield District Council.

  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. 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.

Your questions, answered for Lichfield

Will Lichfield District Council prefer a combined scheme to single plots in Lichfield?

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 Plan, and the decision is the council’s. We test the layout against its policies before applying.

Can neighbours in Lichfield 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. Lichfield District Council decides any planning application on its merits.

Who pays for planning on combined gardens in Lichfield?

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.

Does each Lichfield 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.

Other options in Lichfield

Combine neighbours’ gardens near Lichfield

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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