Backland Development
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Combine back gardens with your neighbours in the West Midlands

Neighbours in the West Midlands with long back gardens can often achieve together what none of them could manage alone. By putting the far ends of adjoining gardens into one site, owners can share a single access road, give the new homes more breathing space, and present the council with one properly planned scheme instead of several cramped ones.

Each owner keeps their house. A collaboration agreement sets out how the value is divided, including a fair return for whichever garden provides the access, and every owner takes advice from their own solicitor before signing.

Get a free appraisalAbout combine neighbours’ gardens
Aerial view of a row of semi-detached houses whose garden ends have been combined into one plot with a new access
Nation
England
National planning policy
NPPF
Planning authorities
7
City
Birmingham

What to know in the West Midlands

Councils across the West Midlands 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 the West Midlands include Birmingham City Council, City of Wolverhampton Council, Coventry City Council, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council.

How it works

  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. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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 the West Midlands

Questions about combine neighbours’ gardens in the West Midlands

Which councils decide combined garden schemes in the West Midlands?

The local planning authority for the address decides, and the authorities serving the West Midlands include Birmingham City Council, City of Wolverhampton Council, Coventry City Council, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council and other councils. Each applies the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) with its own Local Plan. A combined site goes in as one application to whichever council covers the land.

How is value shared between neighbours in the West Midlands?

Through equalisation in a collaboration agreement. Shares are often based on the land each owner contributes, adjusted by agreement, with an extra amount for the garden providing the access. The method is fixed before planning so nobody gains or loses because of where the road goes.

What legal checks apply to combined gardens in the West Midlands?

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.

Which national rules apply to a new home in the West Midlands?

Garden schemes here sit under the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), with the local detail coming from the council’s Local Plan. New homes must also meet the Building Regulations. That affects things such as 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). On drainage you’ll usually need a drainage plan the council will want to see, and land purchases fall under Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). We check which rules apply to your plot as part of the free appraisal.

Other options in the West Midlands

Everything we cover in the West Midlands

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