- Nation
- Wales
- National planning policy
- Planning Policy Wales
- Planning authorities
- 3
- County town
- Bridgend
Mid Glamorgan: the planning picture
Access is often the reason an option is needed. A garden in Mid Glamorgan might have plenty of space but no workable way in, unless a neighbour sells a strip or grants a right of way. Negotiating that can take months, and a ransom strip owner can ask for payment. An option holds the plot while we try, and if access can’t be secured, the option ends and you keep your land. Width matters as well as ownership, since the route has to work for cars and bins, and the new home would also need sprinklers, which every new home in Wales must have.
Planning authorities covering Mid Glamorgan include Bridgend County Borough Council, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council.
How it works
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.
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.
Option agreement in towns across Mid Glamorgan
Questions about option agreement in Mid Glamorgan
What is the difference between an option and a conditional contract in Mid Glamorgan?
Under a conditional contract, both sides are bound from exchange and the sale completes if a satisfactory permission is granted. Under an option, you are bound to sell if we choose to buy, but we aren’t obliged to. Options suit less certain plots; conditional contracts suit clearer ones.
How is the price set under a garden plot option in Mid Glamorgan?
Usually by a formula based on the market value of the plot with the permission actually granted, less deductions agreed at the start, with a minimum price underneath. Some options use a fixed price instead. Either way, the method is written into heads of terms before anything is signed.
Which councils decide planning on option plots in Mid Glamorgan?
It depends on where the plot sits. Applications in Mid Glamorgan go to the council for the address, among them Bridgend County Borough Council, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council and Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, and each works to its own LDP and PPW. During the option period, we submit the application to whichever authority covers your garden and deal with its questions.
Do you buy garden plots in Mid Glamorgan?
Yes. We buy suitable garden plots across Mid Glamorgan directly, with or without planning permission, always subject to survey, title and contract. We also offer sales subject to planning, options, planning promotion and joint ventures. Which route fits depends on your plot, so the starting point is a free, no-obligation appraisal.