- Planning authority
- Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
- Postcodes
- B66, B67, B68
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.5 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- West Midlands
What shapes a plot in Smethwick
As the neighbour, you’ll live with the new home’s shadow. Picture the spring equinox in Smethwick: 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.
What happens next in Smethwick
Once you’ve chosen a structure, we draft heads of terms setting out who funds what, your share or the home you receive, deadlines and protections. Your own solicitor reviews them and the development agreement that follows. Only then do we commission surveys and design, agree the key layout points with you, and submit the application to Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council.
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.
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
- You’ll live next to a building site, and the new home’s design affects your own house and garden.
- Tax can differ from a simple sale of garden land, so take advice from a tax adviser before you sign.
- We’re a new brand within the S&K Group, so ask for open-book reporting and check every protection in writing.
Your questions, answered for Smethwick
Will a joint venture in Smethwick 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 my neighbours join a joint venture in Smethwick?
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.
Does my land stay in my name during a joint venture in Smethwick?
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.
Who decides planning for a joint venture plot in Smethwick?
Sandwell Metropolitan 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.
Other options in Smethwick
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Bungalows on large plots
- Garage courts and yards
- Build a new home in your garden
- Sell subject to planning
- Corner and side plots