- Planning authority
- Cornwall Council
- Postcodes
- PL31
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 40°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.1 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Cornwall
Bodmin: light, access and policy
With the sun at about 16° at noon on 21 December, and around 40° in late March, low winter light is a real concern for gardens in Bodmin. A new home that sits too close or too tall can leave your garden or the one next door in shade for much of the year.
Cornwall Council will test this, often against separation distances in its design guidance. Many councils use around 21 metres between facing back windows, though your council’s own guide decides. In a joint venture you see the shading studies before we apply.
What happens next in Bodmin
Before any agreement for a Bodmin garden, we recommend three conversations: one with us about the scheme and structure, one with your own solicitor about security for your land and your exit rights, and one with a tax adviser about how the deal affects you. Then decide in your own time, with no obligation from the appraisal.
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.
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.
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.
Worth checking early
- We’re a new brand within the S&K Group, so ask for open-book reporting and check every protection in writing.
- A joint venture takes longer than any sale: planning, then building, then selling or handover.
- Your return isn’t fixed. It depends on build costs, sale prices and timing, unless you choose a structure with a fixed element.
Bodmin: questions to ask
Will a joint venture in Bodmin affect my tax?
It may. Sharing in the development and sale of new homes can be taxed differently from a simple sale of garden land, and Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) or VAT may arise depending on the structure. Take advice from a tax adviser on your own position before you commit.
Can I do a joint venture on my garden in Bodmin without paying anything?
In the usual structure, yes. You contribute the land, and we fund design, planning, construction and sale. You may still have your own costs, such as tax or your mortgage lender’s charges, so ask your solicitor and tax adviser to go through them before you sign.
Does my land stay in my name during a joint venture in Bodmin?
It can. One option keeps the land in your name until an agreed stage, with us building under a licence. Another transfers it earlier with a legal charge in your favour. Your solicitor advises which suits you, bearing in mind that a lender funding the build will want security too.
Can I take a new home back instead of cash in Bodmin?
Yes, if the plot can support it. Under a homes-for-land joint venture, one of the finished homes on your plot, or the only one, is transferred to you with its own title and paperwork. The agreement fixes the specification and the timetable.
Other options in Bodmin
- Plot feasibility and design
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Garden plot option agreement
- Sell subject to planning
- Corner and side plots
- Build a home for family in your garden

