- Planning authority
- Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council
- Postcodes
- BL1, BL2, BL7
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 36°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.8 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Greater Manchester
Before you decide in Bolton
As the neighbour, you’ll live with the new home’s shadow. Picture the spring equinox in Bolton: at midday the sun climbs to about 36°, and a new home with 5 m eaves shades roughly 6.8 m of ground behind it. Near the winter solstice, with the sun at around 13°, 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.
What happens next in Bolton
Before any agreement for a Bolton 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.
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.
- Your return isn’t fixed. It depends on build costs, sale prices and timing, unless you choose a structure with a fixed element.
- You’ll live next to a building site, and the new home’s design affects your own house and garden.
Bolton: questions to ask
What if the build on my Bolton plot runs late?
The development agreement should set long-stop dates and say which delays are acceptable, such as severe weather, and which aren’t. If a deadline passes without good reason, you should be able to end the agreement. Your solicitor will check your land and share are protected if that happens.
Who decides planning for a joint venture plot in Bolton?
Bolton Metropolitan Borough 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.
Will a joint venture in Bolton 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 my neighbours join a joint venture in Bolton?
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.
Other options in Bolton
- Sell subject to planning
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Build a new home in your garden
- Sell part of your garden
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Plot feasibility and design