- Nation
- England
- National planning policy
- NPPF
- Planning authorities
- 5
- City
- Newcastle upon Tyne
Before you start in Tyne and Wear
A combined site in Tyne and Wear 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 Tyne and Wear include Gateshead Council, Newcastle City Council, North Tyneside Council, South Tyneside Council, Sunderland City 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 Tyne and Wear
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Sunderland
- South Shields
- Gateshead
- Washington
- Wallsend
- North Shields
- Whitley Bay
- Houghton-le-Spring
- Jarrow
- Hebburn
- Tynemouth
- Whickham
- Blaydon-on-Tyne
Questions about combine neighbours’ gardens in Tyne and Wear
What legal checks apply to combined gardens in Tyne and Wear?
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.
Is a shared access road allowed on garden schemes in Tyne and Wear?
Shared access roads are common on backland schemes, but each council judges width, visibility and the effect on neighbours. The scheme must also allow for fire engine access (or other measures, often sprinklers, agreed with building control and the fire service where a fire engine can’t get close enough), and bins have to be collected within a sensible distance. We check access first at every appraisal.
Do you help neighbours combine gardens in Tyne and Wear?
Yes. We cover Tyne and Wear 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.
Do I need my own solicitor to sell a plot in Tyne and Wear?
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.