- Planning authority
- London Borough of Barnet
- Postcodes
- EN5, N3, N12, N20, NW4
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.3 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Greater London
How it plays out in Barnet
As the neighbour, you’ll live with the new home’s shadow. Picture the spring equinox in Barnet: at midday the sun climbs to about 38°, and a new home with 5 m eaves shades roughly 6.3 m of ground behind it. Near the winter solstice, with the sun at around 15°, 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.
How we’d take it forward in Barnet
Getting started in Barnet is straightforward. Tell us your address and roughly where the garden runs, and we check your title, access and the planning position from the desk, free of charge. If a joint venture looks realistic, we visit, then explain the structures side by side so you can choose before heads of terms are drafted.
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.
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.
Worth checking early
- A joint venture takes longer than any sale: planning, then building, then selling or handover.
- Development lenders usually want security over the land, which your solicitor needs to fit around your own protections.
- We’re a new brand within the S&K Group, so ask for open-book reporting and check every protection in writing.
Barnet: questions to ask
Can I take a new home back instead of cash in Barnet?
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.
How long does a garden joint venture in Barnet usually take?
Longer than a sale, because planning, building and selling all happen before you receive your share. The council’s decision time, the build programme and the market drive the timing. We give you a realistic range for each stage after the appraisal rather than a single promised date.
Can my neighbours join a joint venture in Barnet?
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 Barnet?
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 Barnet
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Garden plot option agreement
- Corner and side plots
- Large rear gardens
- Garage courts and yards
- Build a new home in your garden