- Planning authority
- City and County of Swansea
- Postcodes
- SA4
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.3 m
- Planning plan
- LDP
- County
- West Glamorgan
Gorseinon: light, access and policy
As the neighbour, you’ll live with the new home’s shadow. Picture the spring equinox in Gorseinon: at midday the sun climbs to about 38°, and a new home with 5 m eaves shades roughly 6.3 m of ground behind it. Near the winter solstice, with the sun at around 15°, 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.
The next steps, locally
A joint venture in Gorseinon 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.
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.
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.
Worth checking early
- A joint venture takes longer than any sale: planning, then building, then selling or handover.
- 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.
Gorseinon: questions to ask
Will a joint venture in Gorseinon 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 Land Transaction Tax (LTT) 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 Gorseinon 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 Gorseinon?
The City and County of Swansea decides, using the council’s Local Development Plan (LDP) and national policy in PPW. 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 Gorseinon?
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 Gorseinon
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Bungalows on large plots
- Build a new home in your garden
- Large rear gardens
- Planning permission for a garden plot