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- National planning policy
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- Truro
Cornwall: the planning picture
Across Cornwall, the gardens that suit a joint venture best are usually those where a finished home is likely to be in demand and the build is straightforward: decent access from the road, no major tree or drainage constraints, and enough room for the new home and the existing house to keep proper gardens. Where a plot is harder, with a long narrow drive or a sloping site, the extra cost and risk can make a sale or an option more sensible.
Planning authorities covering Cornwall include Cornwall Council.
How it works
Free plot appraisal
We look at your title plan, access, neighbouring homes and the council’s planning policies, then talk through what might be built and whether a joint venture or a simpler sale suits you better.
Choose the structure
We explain the options side by side: a share of sale proceeds, a share of profit, a home back for your land, or a land payment plus a share. You choose what fits your plans and appetite for risk.
Heads of terms
The key terms go in writing: who funds what, your share or the home you receive, how your land is protected, deadlines, open-book reporting and what happens if planning is refused or the build stalls.
Development agreement
Your own solicitor and ours turn the heads of terms into a binding agreement. Your solicitor advises on the security that fits, such as the land staying in your name until a set stage or a legal charge.
Planning and build
We fund and manage the planning application, Building Regulations approval and construction, reporting costs and progress to you at agreed points. The council decides the application, and building control checks the work.
Sale or handover
The new homes are sold and the proceeds are split as agreed through the solicitors, or your new home is handed over with its warranty, title and certificates in place.
Garden plot joint venture in towns across Cornwall
Questions about garden plot joint venture in Cornwall
Do joint venture homes in Cornwall need a warranty?
New homes usually need a 10-year structural warranty, because buyers’ mortgage lenders generally ask for one, though some accept an architect’s or surveyor’s certificate. It’s arranged as part of the build. If you take a home back, you should receive it with its warranty, building control completion certificate and its own title.
Is a joint venture better than selling my garden in Cornwall?
Not always. A joint venture can give you a share of what’s built, but it takes longer and your return isn’t fixed. A sale gives certainty sooner. We set the options out side by side after the free appraisal so you can choose with the facts in front of you.
What structures are common for garden joint ventures in Cornwall?
The main ones are a share of sale proceeds, a share of profit, homes for land, and a land payment plus a share above an agreed level. Which suits you depends on whether you want cash or a home, and how much market and cost risk you’re prepared to share.
How much is a garden plot in Cornwall worth?
It depends on location, size, access, title and, above all, planning. Two similar gardens in the same street can be worth very different amounts if one has easy access and the other doesn’t. We don’t quote figures before we’ve looked at a plot properly; the free appraisal is the way to find out.