- Planning authority
- Preston City Council
- Postcodes
- PR1, PR2
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 36°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.8 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Lancashire
What shapes a plot in Preston
Homes in PR1 and PR2, 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 Preston City Council judges it on its own merits.
What happens next in Preston
Getting started in Preston 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.
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.
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.
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.
- You’ll live next to a building site, and the new home’s design affects your own house and garden.
Your questions, answered for Preston
Who decides planning for a joint venture plot in Preston?
Preston 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.
Will a joint venture in Preston 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 I do a joint venture on my garden in Preston 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.
How long does a garden joint venture in Preston 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.
Other options in Preston
- Plot feasibility and design
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Corner and side plots
- Sell part of your garden

