Backland Development
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Combine back gardens with your neighbours in Elland

Neighbours in Elland sometimes find that one garden alone is too narrow, too short or too hard to reach, while the land behind several houses together would make a sensible site for new homes. That’s land assembly on a small scale.

We can look at the gardens as one site, show the group what a combined layout might allow, and explain how value is shared fairly through equalisation. Nobody has to commit until they’ve taken their own advice. If a single garden works perfectly well on its own, with its own route to the road, we’ll tell you that too.

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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
Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council
Postcodes
HX5
Noon sun, 21 March
About 36°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.8 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
West Yorkshire

The local picture in Elland

Shadow is one reason combined gardens in Elland often work better. On 21 March the midday sun reaches roughly 36°, enough for a 5 m eaves line to shade about 6.8 m of ground, and by midwinter, at about 13°, the shade runs much further.

On one narrow garden, a new home can end up close to the houses on every side. On a combined site, the new homes can sit towards the middle, with gardens around them, and the shadows they cast fall mostly on their own land.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Elland: 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 21.9 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Elland: around 36° of sun at midday in late March and about 13° at midwinter. It shows why the gap between your house and a new home behind it is about light as well as privacy. Garden assumed to face north.

How we’d take it forward in Elland

Nothing happens without every owner’s agreement. If you’re in Elland and think the gardens on your side of the street could work together, call us or use the form. We’ll look at the land first, tell you plainly whether it’s worth pursuing, and only then discuss approaching the other owners, with your say-so and in the way you prefer.

  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. 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.

  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. 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

  • 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.
  • If the garden providing the access drops out before signing, the whole scheme may not work.

Questions about garden plots in Elland

Who gets more if one garden in Elland provides the access?

Usually the owner of the access garden receives an extra agreed share, because their land makes the scheme possible and their house is most affected by passing cars. The exact method is agreed by everyone in the collaboration agreement before planning starts.

Do we each need a solicitor for a combined scheme in Elland?

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.

Will Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council prefer a combined scheme to single plots in Elland?

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.

Does each Elland 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 Elland

Combine neighbours’ gardens near Elland

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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