- Planning authority
- South Norfolk Council
- Postcodes
- IP22
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.5 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Norfolk
What shapes a plot in Diss
As the neighbour, you’ll live with the new home’s shadow. Picture the spring equinox in Diss: at midday the sun climbs to about 38°, and a new home with 5 m eaves shades roughly 6.5 m of ground behind it. Near the winter solstice, with the sun at around 14°, 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.
From first call to decision
Before any agreement for a Diss 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.
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
- Your return isn’t fixed. It depends on build costs, sale prices and timing, unless you choose a structure with a fixed element.
- 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.
Questions about garden plots in Diss
Can I take a new home back instead of cash in Diss?
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.
Does my land stay in my name during a joint venture in Diss?
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 my neighbours join a joint venture in Diss?
Yes. Combining adjoining gardens can give a better layout and one shared access. Each owner keeps their house, has their own solicitor and signs up to a collaboration agreement setting out how the result is shared, including fair treatment for the garden that provides the access.
What if the build on my Diss 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 Diss
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Sell part of your garden
- Sell subject to planning
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Build a new home in your garden

