Garden plot option agreements in Camborne

A Camborne homeowner considering an option usually wants to know three things: how long the land will be tied up, how the price will be worked out, and what happens if planning fails. The agreement answers all three in writing.

The option period is fixed at the start, with any extensions tied to specific events. The price follows a formula with a minimum. And if no acceptable permission is granted, or we don’t exercise the option, it simply ends and the land remains yours, free of our entry on the title. You can then keep the plot, sell it or try another route.

Legal agreement, pen and a title plan with a garden plot outlined in red on a desk
Planning authority
Cornwall Council
Postcodes
TR14
Noon sun, 21 March
About 40°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.0 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Cornwall

What the council will look at in Camborne

When we look at a garden in TR14 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 Cornwall Council is likely to want a revised scheme, the period allows for it.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Camborne: about 40 degrees on 21 March and 16 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 40°, shadow 6.0 m21 Dec, noon: sun 16°, shadow 17.0 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Camborne on 21 March sits about 40° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.0 m. In December the sun is only about 16° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

From first call to decision

Here is what happens in Camborne. A conversation first, then a desk check, then a visit if the plot looks promising. We put proposed terms in writing, without obligation, and you take advice on them with your legal fees covered within the agreed cap. Nothing is binding until you sign the option agreement itself, and the appraisal costs nothing.

  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. 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.

  3. Planning work

    We commission surveys, design the scheme and apply for planning, keeping you updated and showing you the drawings before submission. The council decides; if it refuses, the agreement sets out whether we revise, reapply or appeal.

  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

  • Your plot is tied up for the option period and can’t be sold to anyone else meanwhile.
  • With a market value formula, the final price isn’t known until the option is exercised.
  • We have the right to buy, not a duty, so a sale isn’t certain even after a long wait.

Your questions, answered for Camborne

Could my neighbours in Camborne 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 Cornwall Council is more likely to approve.

Is an option better than selling my Camborne garden plot outright?

Not always. An outright sale is quicker and certain once contracts are exchanged. An option suits plots where planning is uncertain or more land is needed, because it gives us time without forcing a guess at the price. Our free appraisal compares the routes for your plot.

Who decides planning on an option plot in Camborne?

The decision belongs to Cornwall Council, which will weigh the scheme against the council’s Local Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). 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.

Will you cover my legal fees on an option in Camborne?

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 Camborne

Option agreement near Camborne

Find out what your garden could become

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