- Planning authority
- Castle Point Borough Council
- Postcodes
- SS7
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.3 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Essex
What the council will look at in Hadleigh
During an option on a Hadleigh plot, most of the work happens with Castle Point 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.
From first call to decision
Here is what happens in Hadleigh. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
- We have the right to buy, not a duty, so a sale isn’t certain even after a long wait.
- Options have their own Capital Gains Tax treatment, so take advice from a tax adviser before signing.
Your questions, answered for Hadleigh
Do I pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) if you exercise an option over my Hadleigh plot?
No. Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) 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.
What happens to my Hadleigh plot if the option ends?
It stays yours, and the entry on your title is removed. You’re free to keep, sell or develop the land. If a permission was granted before the option ended, it generally stays with the land, though it will need to be started within its time limit.
Will you cover my legal fees on an option in Hadleigh?
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 Hadleigh 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.
Other options in Hadleigh
- Sell part of your garden
- Garage courts and yards
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Build a new home in your garden
- Combine gardens with your neighbours