Mother retireing this year with property she wants to biuld townhouses/villas on. Looking at a structure to hold assets

Speakto a finance broker who specialises in 'commercial' property development. There are waysto get around the lack of future income (other than the property income itself).Depending on the equity held in property, she should qualify for a development loan as they banks will do a valuation on the end value.

Another way to deal with it is to go into partnership with a reputable builder where she provides the land and they provide the materials and labour and finance.
She talks a % of the profit by way of retaining several of the finished developments (as will the builder, who may or may not sell them to get to his profit).
This is a good method as it take sthe stress out of getting a LARGE loan with the builder completing ALL the paperwork AND you get to retain ownership of the land until the final sale to an end buyer.
You will provide him with several options (one covering each unit to be passed on) to buy (at a pre determined price) and a licence to enter the property for the purpose of completing the building development. As you are not (yet) selling the units, the builder will not be required to pay stamp duty. Stamp duty is paid by the final buyer who takes the option to purchase from th builder. This prevents double payment of stamp duty and retains the builders cashflow.

You will need sound legal and financial advice to use this method buy well worth it in the end.