- Planning authority
- St Helens Borough Council
- Postcodes
- L35, WA9, WA10, WA11, WN5
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 37°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.7 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Merseyside
How it plays out in St Helens
As the neighbour, you’ll live with the new home’s shadow. Picture the spring equinox in St Helens: at midday the sun climbs to about 37°, and a new home with 5 m eaves shades roughly 6.7 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 St Helens
Before any agreement for a St Helens 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.
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
- Tax can differ from a simple sale of garden land, so take advice from a tax adviser before you sign.
- Your return isn’t fixed. It depends on build costs, sale prices and timing, unless you choose a structure with a fixed element.
- A joint venture takes longer than any sale: planning, then building, then selling or handover.
Your questions, answered for St Helens
Does my land stay in my name during a joint venture in St Helens?
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.
Can I do a joint venture on my garden in St Helens 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.
Who decides planning for a joint venture plot in St Helens?
St Helens 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.
How long does a garden joint venture in St Helens 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 St Helens
- Garage courts and yards
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Sell part of your garden
- Sell subject to planning
- Corner and side plots
- Planning promotion for your garden plot