- Nation
- England
- National planning policy
- NPPF
- Planning authorities
- 10
- City
- St Albans
Hertfordshire: the planning picture
A joint venture build in Hertfordshire must meet the Building Regulations as well as planning. Fire safety is part of that, and in practice it means planning for fire engine access (or other measures, often sprinklers, agreed with building control and the fire service where a fire engine can’t get close enough). Drainage also has to be planned early, and for garden plots that usually means a drainage plan the council will want to see. These costs sit inside the project in a joint venture, so they affect the result you share in, which is why we price them carefully, with the surveys to back them, before proposing any terms to you.
Planning authorities covering Hertfordshire include Broxbourne Borough Council, Dacorum Borough Council, East Hertfordshire District Council, Hertsmere Borough Council, North Hertfordshire District Council, St Albans City and District Council, Stevenage Borough Council, Three Rivers District Council, Watford Borough Council, Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council.
How it works
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.
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.
Garden plot joint venture in towns across Hertfordshire
- Watford
- Hemel Hempstead
- Stevenage
- St Albans
- Welwyn Garden City
- Cheshunt
- Hatfield
- Bishop's Stortford
- Borehamwood
- Hitchin
- Hoddesdon
- Letchworth Garden City
- Harpenden
- Bushey
- Hertford
- Rickmansworth
- Potters Bar
- Berkhamsted
- Ware
- Royston
Questions about garden plot joint venture in Hertfordshire
How is my land protected in a joint venture in Hertfordshire?
Your solicitor advises on the right protection. Options include keeping the land in your name until an agreed stage, a legal charge if it transfers, a title restriction, long-stop dates, step-in rights and sale proceeds paid through the solicitors in an agreed order.
Which councils decide joint venture schemes in Hertfordshire?
The council where the land sits decides; the authorities serving Hertfordshire include Broxbourne Borough Council, Dacorum Borough Council, East Hertfordshire District Council, Hertsmere Borough Council, North Hertfordshire District Council and other councils. It applies the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) together with its own Local Plan. We check the relevant policies and nearby decisions before proposing any joint venture terms.
Do joint venture homes in Hertfordshire need a warranty?
New homes usually need a 10-year structural warranty, because buyers’ mortgage lenders generally ask for one, though some accept an architect’s or surveyor’s certificate. It’s arranged as part of the build. If you take a home back, you should receive it with its warranty, building control completion certificate and its own title.
How long does planning take for a garden plot in Hertfordshire?
The council usually has eight weeks from validation to decide a small application, though extensions are often agreed, and the whole process takes longer. Surveys, design work, pre-application advice and amendments all add time, and some ecology surveys can only be done at certain times of year. We’ll give you a realistic timetable for your plot rather than a promise.