- Planning authority
- Torbay Council
- Postcodes
- TQ1, TQ2
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 40°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.1 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Devon
The local picture in Torquay
Garden plots rarely sit alone. Where several long gardens run side by side, whether in Torquay, in nearby Paignton, Brixham and Teignmouth or anywhere else, a scheme across two or three of them can be much stronger than one squeezed into a single plot.
Options are a common way to bring those gardens together. Each owner grants an option on their own land, and an agreement between the owners can share the outcome fairly, even though only one garden provides the access. Torbay Council would then consider one well-planned scheme instead of several piecemeal ones.
How we’d take it forward in Torquay
After your enquiry, we carry out the free appraisal and compare an option with an outright sale and a conditional contract for your plot. If you choose the option, your solicitor reviews the agreement before signing, and once it is in place we start the planning work, share the drawings before submission and keep you updated.
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.
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.
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.
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
- With a market value formula, the final price isn’t known until the option is exercised.
- Your plot is tied up for the option period and can’t be sold to anyone else meanwhile.
- We have the right to buy, not a duty, so a sale isn’t certain even after a long wait.
Your questions, answered for Torquay
Could my neighbours in Torquay 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 Torbay Council is more likely to approve.
Will you cover my legal fees on an option in Torquay?
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.
Is an option better than selling my Torquay 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.
How long would an option on my Torquay garden last?
The period is agreed at the start and should match the planning task: long enough for surveys, an application and, where sensible, a revised scheme or appeal, but no longer. On a single garden it is usually much shorter than on farmland. Any extension should be tied to specific events.
Other options in Torquay
- Garage courts and yards
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Sell subject to planning
- Corner and side plots
- Plot feasibility and design
- Combine gardens with your neighbours