- Planning authority
- West Suffolk Council
- Postcodes
- IP32, IP33
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.5 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Suffolk
The local picture in Bury St Edmunds
A combined scheme in Bury St Edmunds 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 Bury St Edmunds and nearby places such as Mildenhall, Thetford and Stowmarket, 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 West Suffolk Council grants, so we don’t quote figures before an appraisal.
From first call to decision
To start, send us the addresses of the gardens involved in Bury St Edmunds, or just your own if the neighbours haven’t been asked yet. We run a free desk-based check of the titles, access options and planning position, then explain in writing whether a combined scheme looks realistic before anyone talks to the neighbours in detail.
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.
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.
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.
Worth checking early
- If the garden providing the access drops out before signing, the whole scheme may not work.
- Planning is still the council’s decision; a combined scheme is often stronger, but it can still be refused.
- Several owners have to agree, so a combined scheme usually takes longer to set up than a single plot.
Questions about garden plots in Bury St Edmunds
Does each Bury St Edmunds 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.
Can neighbours in Bury St Edmunds 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. West Suffolk Council decides any planning application on its merits.
Do we each need a solicitor for a combined scheme in Bury St Edmunds?
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.
Who pays for planning on combined gardens in Bury St Edmunds?
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.
Other options in Bury St Edmunds
- Sell subject to planning
- Build a new home in your garden
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Garden plot option agreement
- Sell part of your garden
- Large rear gardens