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- Durham
County Durham: the planning picture
Homes-for-land deals interest families in County Durham who want a home for a relative close by. You provide the garden plot and receive a finished home on it, built to an agreed specification, with its own title and the paperwork a mortgage lender or future buyer would expect, including a structural warranty. The agreement fixes the specification and timetable, and what happens if either needs to change, so there are no surprises at handover.
Planning authorities covering County Durham include Darlington Borough Council, Durham County Council, Hartlepool Borough Council, Stockton-on-Tees Borough 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 County Durham
- Darlington
- Hartlepool
- Stockton-on-Tees
- Durham
- Chester-le-Street
- Billingham
- Stanley
- Consett
- Newton Aycliffe
- Bishop Auckland
- Seaham
- Peterlee
- Spennymoor
Questions about garden plot joint venture in County Durham
Is a joint venture better than selling my garden in County Durham?
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.
Which councils decide joint venture schemes in County Durham?
The council where the land sits decides; the authorities serving County Durham include Darlington Borough Council, Durham County Council, Hartlepool Borough Council and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. It applies the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) together with its own Local Plan. We check the relevant policies and nearby decisions before proposing any joint venture terms.
Do joint venture homes in County Durham 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.
Can you build a new home in my garden in County Durham for me to keep?
Yes. Through our design and build route we survey your plot, design a new home with you, apply for planning and, once permission is granted, build it. You keep the land and the new home, to sell, let or use for family. You get a written quote after design and survey, and any earlier guide price is a guide only.