sb1987

That looks nice, but I believe will still need a form of retaining wall to encircle it.

No, it's just a regular fence, although a little more bulky than a traditional, most likely to reduce noise. It backs onto a dual carriageway which is about 10 meters behind where it stands. There is no current retaining features, just a slope with a fence above it. Looks like an anchor system wouldn't be an option them

The soil in my area contains quite a bit of clay. Looking at a soil map, it's actually described as "loamy", but I know from experience there is quite a bit of clay in the slope, so much so that it's not uncommon for me to dig out big chunks of it.

That sounds interesting. After a quick google search I remembered an estate nearby has used the same for their gardens where it backs onto a steep slope. Would this be considerable work and expensive? Would it be a solution for the neighbouring ground difference once the slope is dug out?

Also, does anyone have any experience with anchored retaining walls? Would it be suitable and allow the slope to be removed back further? Would an anchored wall be far more costly? Would there be any options for the side slopes? (adjoining from neighbours side and community car park), since the force wouldn't be directly behind, could we get away with just sleepers and new fence? Many thanks. Here is a rough sketch:

That is pretty incredible. Thanks for sending that across! I suppose that can also result in less need for patio area near the house, as there will be a seating area where the slope currently lies. Could your design be combined with tethered steps for the higher sections of the slope? And does a wall created in such a way (where there is a meter left on either side) have benefits i.e. less construction cost/effort? I know it is hard to tell, with there being so many variables at play, but any idea in terms of how much something like this would cost?

Here are a few more photos to help vision the elevation. I would say the elevation from the flat turf to the highest point to be around 2m.

Thanks @Conor, May I ask what would you do if this was your garden? What ideas come to mind if you wanted to increase useable space and to improve the overall look and feel of the garden? I am open to ideas. Another person suggested three terraces with steps using retaining wall hollow blocks to make use of the waste soil you will be digging out. Cheers!

Thanks for your reply. Access is actually very good. The right hand fence backs onto the communal carpark and I have two parking spaces next to the fence. If the fence was lifted, machinery would be easily able to access the garden. Kind regards

Hello, The right hand fence backs onto the communal carpark. There is plenty of access for machinery. I have two dedicated parking spaces right next to the fence and the one builder that visited a couple of years ago mentioned access was very good. Interlocking blocks sounds like an interesting option. I will look into this further. I also like the idea of raising the lawn height. I'm not bothered about steps potentially devaluing the property. We live in quite a high demand area, so can't seeing this putting off potential buyers in the future. Thanks for your reply.

Hi all, I'm looking to redesign my garden. As you can see from the pictures, almost half the garden has a fairly steep slope which is wasted space. I also plan on extending the patio area because currently there is only enough room for a very small table and two chairs. The reason I want to flatten part of the slope is because otherwise there will be very little grass area left. I'm aware a retaining wall will be required, and have toyed with the idea of a Gabion wall too. I'm also aware anything over 2m would require planning permission. The slope runs all along the back (neighbours garden on the left, community car park on the right), so obviously the adjoining ground height difference on either side will need to be accounted for if the slope is removed. Another option is a stepped slope, but again, my priority is to extend to flat grass area as much as possible. I'm sure this could be a considerable amount of work and some of you may suggest to just plant shrubs/trees at the back, but this is something I really would like to have done to maximize the usable space. Even cutting the grass on the slope is hard work, currently. Does anyone have any suggestions? Or a very rough idea how much something like this would cost (I know it's hard to say) - I hoping for it to be £10k or less. Many thanks.