- Planning authority
- Canterbury City Council
- Postcodes
- CT6
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.3 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Kent
What the council will look at in Herne Bay
With the sun at about 15° at noon on 21 December, and around 39° in late March, low winter light is a real concern for gardens in Herne Bay. A new home that sits too close or too tall can leave your garden or the one next door in shade for much of the year.
Canterbury City Council will test this, often against separation distances in its design guidance. Many councils use around 21 metres between facing back windows, though your council’s own guide decides. In a joint venture you see the shading studies before we apply.
How we’d take it forward in Herne Bay
Once you’ve chosen a structure, we draft heads of terms setting out who funds what, your share or the home you receive, deadlines and protections. Your own solicitor reviews them and the development agreement that follows. Only then do we commission surveys and design, agree the key layout points with you, and submit the application to Canterbury City Council.
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.
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.
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.
- You’ll live next to a building site, and the new home’s design affects your own house and garden.
- A joint venture takes longer than any sale: planning, then building, then selling or handover.
Herne Bay: questions to ask
What if the build on my Herne Bay 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.
Does my land stay in my name during a joint venture in Herne Bay?
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.
How long does a garden joint venture in Herne Bay 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.
Who decides planning for a joint venture plot in Herne Bay?
Canterbury City 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.
Other options in Herne Bay
- Garage courts and yards
- Garden plot option agreement
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Build a new home in your garden
- Plot feasibility and design
- Combine gardens with your neighbours