- Planning authority
- Lewes District Council
- Postcodes
- BN10
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 39°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.1 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- East Sussex
What the council will look at in Peacehaven
When we look at a garden in BN10 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 Lewes District Council is likely to want a revised scheme, the period allows for it.
How we’d take it forward in Peacehaven
To explore an option on your Peacehaven 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.
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.
- Options have their own Capital Gains Tax treatment, so take advice from a tax adviser before signing.
- Deductions agreed at the start, such as planning costs, reduce what you receive, so check them closely.
Peacehaven: questions to ask
Who decides planning on an option plot in Peacehaven?
The decision belongs to Lewes District 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 Peacehaven?
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.
How long would an option on my Peacehaven 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.
Could my neighbours in Peacehaven 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 Lewes District Council is more likely to approve.
Other options in Peacehaven
- Sell subject to planning
- Build a new home in your garden
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Bungalows on large plots
- Sell part of your garden