- Planning authority
- Leicester City Council
- Postcodes
- LE1, LE2, LE3, LE4, LE5
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 37°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.5 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Leicestershire
What shapes a plot in Leicester
Every joint venture on a garden in Leicester depends on planning permission from Leicester City Council, and that starts with the council’s Local Plan. We read its policies on garden land, design and parking before proposing terms, and we look at how the council has decided similar plots nearby.
If the policies are against a plot, a joint venture would only add delay, so we say so early. If they support it, we design the scheme to answer them directly and agree with you the points that affect your own home, such as window positions facing your house.
How we’d take it forward in Leicester
Before any agreement for a Leicester 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.
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.
Worth checking early
- Development lenders usually want security over the land, which your solicitor needs to fit around your own protections.
- Tax can differ from a simple sale of garden land, so take advice from a tax adviser before you sign.
- You’ll live next to a building site, and the new home’s design affects your own house and garden.
Questions about garden plots in Leicester
Will a joint venture in Leicester 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 take a new home back instead of cash in Leicester?
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.
Can I do a joint venture on my garden in Leicester 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.
What if the build on my Leicester 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.
Other options in Leicester
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Corner and side plots
- Garden plot option agreement
- Sell subject to planning
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Sell part of your garden