- Planning authority
- Eastbourne Borough Council
- Postcodes
- BN20, BN21, BN22, BN23
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.1 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- East Sussex
Before you decide in Eastbourne
As the neighbour, you’ll live with the new home’s shadow. Picture the spring equinox in Eastbourne: at midday the sun climbs to about 39°, and a new home with 5 m eaves shades roughly 6.1 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.
From first call to decision
Before any agreement for a Eastbourne 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.
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.
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.
- Development lenders usually want security over the land, which your solicitor needs to fit around your own protections.
- Tax can differ from a simple sale of garden land, so take advice from a tax adviser before you sign.
Eastbourne: questions to ask
Will a joint venture in Eastbourne 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 take a new home back instead of cash in Eastbourne?
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 my neighbours join a joint venture in Eastbourne?
Yes. Combining adjoining gardens can give a better layout and one shared access. Each owner keeps their house, has their own solicitor and signs up to a collaboration agreement setting out how the result is shared, including fair treatment for the garden that provides the access.
Does my land stay in my name during a joint venture in Eastbourne?
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.
Other options in Eastbourne
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Build a new home in your garden
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Garden plot option agreement
- Sell part of your garden
- Garage courts and yards