- Planning authority
- Torridge District Council
- Postcodes
- EX39
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.2 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Devon
Before you decide in Bideford
As the neighbour, you’ll live with the new home’s shadow. Picture the spring equinox in Bideford: at midday the sun climbs to about 39°, and a new home with 5 m eaves shades roughly 6.2 m of ground behind it. Near the winter solstice, with the sun at around 16°, that shade stretches much further.
In a joint venture you approve the layout before the application goes in, so we can show you where the shadow will fall on your garden at different times of year. Keeping the eaves low or setting the home further back can make a real difference.
The next steps, locally
Before any agreement for a Bideford 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.
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.
Worth checking early
- Your return isn’t fixed. It depends on build costs, sale prices and timing, unless you choose a structure with a fixed element.
- 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 questions, answered for Bideford
Can I take a new home back instead of cash in Bideford?
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.
Can I do a joint venture on my garden in Bideford 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.
Will a joint venture in Bideford 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.
Who decides planning for a joint venture plot in Bideford?
Torridge District Council decides, using the council’s Local Plan and national policy in the NPPF. We prepare and fund the application and deal with the council’s questions, but no developer can promise the outcome. If planning is refused, you keep your land, and in the usual structure the planning costs stay with us.
Other options in Bideford
- Corner and side plots
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Sell part of your garden
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Garage courts and yards
- Combine gardens with your neighbours