Backland Development
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Garden plot option agreements in Ormskirk

Options are used on land of all sizes, from farmland to single back gardens. On a garden plot in Ormskirk, the same principle applies on a smaller scale: you keep the land, we seek planning, and the sale only happens if we choose to buy once a permission we can work with is granted.

Backland Development is new, part of the S&K Group, and we’d rather be judged on the agreement in front of you than on any history. That means clear terms, your reasonable legal fees covered within an agreed cap, and an honest view on whether an option suits your plot at all.

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Legal agreement, pen and a title plan with a garden plot outlined in red on a desk
Planning authority
West Lancashire Borough Council
Postcodes
L39
Noon sun, 21 March
About 36°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.8 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Lancashire

What the council will look at in Ormskirk

During an option on a Ormskirk plot, most of the work happens with West Lancashire 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 Ormskirk: about 36 degrees on 21 March and 13 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 36°, shadow 6.8 m21 Dec, noon: sun 13°, shadow 21.7 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Ormskirk on 21 March sits about 36° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.8 m. In December the sun is only about 13° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

The next steps, locally

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.

  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. 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.

  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

  • Deductions agreed at the start, such as planning costs, reduce what you receive, so check them closely.
  • We have the right to buy, not a duty, so a sale isn’t certain even after a long wait.
  • Your plot is tied up for the option period and can’t be sold to anyone else meanwhile.

Ormskirk: questions to ask

Could my neighbours in Ormskirk 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 West Lancashire Borough Council is more likely to approve.

Is an option better than selling my Ormskirk 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 Ormskirk?

The decision belongs to West Lancashire 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.

Do I still own my garden in Ormskirk 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.

Other options in Ormskirk

Option agreement near Ormskirk

Find out what your garden could become

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