- Planning authority
- Harlow District Council
- Postcodes
- CM17, CM18, CM20
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.3 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Essex
Before you decide in Harlow
Homes in CM17, CM18 and CM20, like homes anywhere, may have neighbours weighing up the same choice about their gardens. If the plot next door could join yours, a joint venture on the combined land may give a better scheme, with one shared access and more space between old and new homes.
Each owner would keep their house and have their own solicitor, and the agreement would set out each person’s share. Where only a single garden is involved, we design for that plot and its neighbours alone, and Harlow District Council judges it on its own merits.
The next steps, locally
A joint venture in Harlow moves through clear stages: appraisal, structure, heads of terms, development agreement, planning, build, then sale or handover. You receive progress and cost reports at agreed points. Timing depends on the council, the build and the market, so we give realistic ranges with each stage rather than fixed dates, and update them as things move.
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.
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
- Development lenders usually want security over the land, which your solicitor needs to fit around your own protections.
- A joint venture takes longer than any sale: planning, then building, then selling or handover.
- We’re a new brand within the S&K Group, so ask for open-book reporting and check every protection in writing.
Harlow: questions to ask
Can I take a new home back instead of cash in Harlow?
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.
Does my land stay in my name during a joint venture in Harlow?
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 my neighbours join a joint venture in Harlow?
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.
Can I do a joint venture on my garden in Harlow 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.
Other options in Harlow
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Corner and side plots
- Large rear gardens
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Plot feasibility and design