Backland Development
0800 088 6248Free to call Free plot appraisal

Garden plot option agreements in Ilkeston

Choosing between an option, an outright sale and a sale subject to planning on a Ilkeston garden comes down to certainty and time. An outright sale is quickest. A conditional contract binds both sides from exchange. An option gives us the right but not the duty to buy, which is why it suits plots where planning is genuinely uncertain.

Our free appraisal compares the routes for your plot specifically, looking at access, the title and the planning history of your street. If an option isn’t the best fit, we’ll say so, and explain which route would serve you better and why.

Get a free appraisalCheck my garden
Legal agreement, pen and a title plan with a garden plot outlined in red on a desk
Planning authority
Erewash Borough Council
Postcodes
DE7
Noon sun, 21 March
About 37°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.6 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Derbyshire

The local picture in Ilkeston

During an option on a Ilkeston plot, most of the work happens with Erewash Borough Council, testing the scheme against the council’s Local Plan. We usually start with pre-application advice where it is offered, then commission surveys, prepare the drawings and submit the application, keeping you informed at each step.

The new home must meet the Building Regulations as well as planning, so the design allows from the start for bin collection distances and for fire engine access (or other measures, often sprinklers, agreed with building control and the fire service where a fire engine can’t get close enough). If the council refuses, the agreement says whether we revise, reapply or appeal within the option period.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Ilkeston: about 37 degrees on 21 March and 14 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 37°, shadow 6.6 m21 Dec, noon: sun 14°, shadow 20.7 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Ilkeston on 21 March sits about 37° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.6 m. In December the sun is only about 14° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

How we’d take it forward in Ilkeston

To explore an option on your Ilkeston 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. 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

  • We have the right to buy, not a duty, so a sale isn’t certain even after a long wait.
  • With a market value formula, the final price isn’t known until the option is exercised.
  • Options have their own Capital Gains Tax treatment, so take advice from a tax adviser before signing.

Questions about garden plots in Ilkeston

Who decides planning on an option plot in Ilkeston?

The decision belongs to Erewash Borough 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.

Could my neighbours in Ilkeston 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 Erewash Borough Council is more likely to approve.

Do I still own my garden in Ilkeston during an option?

Yes. An option is a right to buy, not a sale, so the land stays yours until we exercise the option and the sale completes. You carry on using the garden, and the option is noted on your title so the plot can’t be sold elsewhere while it runs.

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

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 Ilkeston

Option agreement near Ilkeston

Find out what your garden could become

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

Get my free appraisal 0800 088 6248