Garden plot option agreements in St Asaph

Options are used on land of all sizes, from farmland to single back gardens. On a garden plot in St Asaph, the same principle applies on a smaller scale: you keep the land, we seek planning, and the sale only happens if we choose to buy once a permission we can work with is granted.

Backland Development is new, part of the S&K Group, and we’d rather be judged on the agreement in front of you than on any history. That means clear terms, your reasonable legal fees covered within an agreed cap, and an honest view on whether an option suits your plot at all.

Legal agreement, pen and a title plan with a garden plot outlined in red on a desk
Planning authority
Denbighshire County Council
Postcodes
LL17
Noon sun, 21 March
About 37°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.7 m
Planning plan
LDP
County
Clwyd

How it plays out in St Asaph

When we look at a garden in LL17 for a possible option, we measure the things that create uncertainty: the width and ownership of the access, the distance to neighbouring windows, the trees and their roots, and the levels across the plot. Those findings decide how long the option period needs to be and what the agreement asks of us.

If access depends on a neighbour, the option holds your plot while we negotiate. If Denbighshire County Council is likely to want a revised scheme, the period allows for it.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in St Asaph: about 37 degrees on 21 March and 13 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 37°, shadow 6.7 m21 Dec, noon: sun 13°, shadow 21.1 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of St Asaph: around 37° of sun at midday in late March and about 13° at midwinter. It shows why the gap between your house and a new home behind it is about light as well as privacy. Garden assumed to face north.

How we’d take it forward in St Asaph

To explore an option on your St Asaph garden, send us your address and a few details. We check the title, access and planning background, then call you with an honest view. If an option looks right, heads of terms set out the period, the price formula, the minimum price and the cap on your legal fees, which we cover.

  1. Free plot appraisal

    We look at your title, the access, the planning history and the policies that apply, then tell you honestly whether an option, an outright sale or a conditional contract fits your plot best. It costs you nothing.

  2. Heads of terms

    We set out the option period, the price formula and minimum price, any option fee, our planning obligations and the cap on your reasonable legal fees, which we cover. Nothing is binding at this stage.

  3. Sign the option

    Your solicitor and ours agree the option agreement and the plan of the plot. Once it is signed, the option is noted on your title, and you carry on living in your house and using the garden as normal.

  4. Exercise or lapse

    If an acceptable permission is granted, we serve notice, the price is fixed by the formula and the sale completes in the agreed time. If not, the option lapses, the entry comes off your title and the land stays yours.

Worth checking early

  • Deductions agreed at the start, such as planning costs, reduce what you receive, so check them closely.
  • Options have their own Capital Gains Tax treatment, so take advice from a tax adviser before signing.
  • With a market value formula, the final price isn’t known until the option is exercised.

Your questions, answered for St Asaph

Who decides planning on an option plot in St Asaph?

The decision belongs to Denbighshire County Council, which will weigh the scheme against the council’s Local Development Plan (LDP) and Planning Policy Wales (PPW). Our job during the option period is to put in the strongest application the plot allows and answer the council’s questions. The agreement sets out what happens if permission is refused.

Do I pay Land Transaction Tax (LTT) if you exercise an option over my St Asaph plot?

No. Land Transaction Tax (LTT) is paid by the buyer of land, so any amount due on completion falls to us. As the seller, you may have Capital Gains Tax to consider, and options have their own rules on timing, so take advice from a tax adviser before signing.

Could my neighbours in St Asaph be part of the same option scheme?

Yes. Where neighbouring gardens together would make a better scheme, each owner can grant an option on their own land, and an agreement between the owners can share the outcome fairly. It needs careful drafting and everyone’s agreement, and it often produces a scheme Denbighshire County Council is more likely to approve.

Will you cover my legal fees on an option in St Asaph?

Yes. We cover reasonable legal fees for your own solicitor on an option agreement, up to a cap agreed in heads of terms. Choose a solicitor experienced with development land, and agree the cap with us before they begin, so their fees stay within it.

Other options in St Asaph

Option agreement near St Asaph

Find out what your garden could become

Free garden plot appraisal. No cost, no obligation, and a straight answer if it won’t work.