- Planning authority
- Sheffield City Council
- Postcodes
- S1, S2, S3, S4, S7
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 37°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.7 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- South Yorkshire
The local picture in Sheffield
With the sun at about 13° at noon on 21 December, and around 37° in late March, low winter light is a real concern for gardens in Sheffield. 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.
Sheffield 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.
What happens next in Sheffield
A joint venture in Sheffield moves through clear stages: appraisal, structure, heads of terms, development agreement, planning, build, then sale or handover. You receive progress and cost reports at agreed points. Timing depends on the council, the build and the market, so we give realistic ranges with each stage rather than fixed dates, and update them as things move.
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
- We’re a new brand within the S&K Group, so ask for open-book reporting and check every protection in writing.
- 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.
Sheffield: questions to ask
Can I do a joint venture on my garden in Sheffield 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.
Can I take a new home back instead of cash in Sheffield?
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.
Who decides planning for a joint venture plot in Sheffield?
Sheffield 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.
Does my land stay in my name during a joint venture in Sheffield?
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.
Other options in Sheffield
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Garage courts and yards
- Build a new home in your garden
- Plot feasibility and design
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Bungalows on large plots