- Planning authority
- North Yorkshire Council
- Postcodes
- YO22
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 36°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 7.0 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- North Yorkshire
Whitby: light, access and policy
Light can decide the size of the scheme an option leads to. Take the figures for Whitby: a midday sun of about 36° in late March means a wall rising 5 m to the eaves shades roughly 7.0 m of ground behind it, and with the December sun near 12°, that shade grows considerably.
Those figures help explain why a plot that could take two homes in one layout might take only one in another. Under a price formula, that difference flows through to the price, which is one reason options suit plots where the outcome is open.
From first call to decision
Here is what happens in Whitby. 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.
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.
Worth checking early
- We have the right to buy, not a duty, so a sale isn’t certain even after a long wait.
- 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.
Your questions, answered for Whitby
Do I pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) if you exercise an option over my Whitby 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.
Do I still own my garden in Whitby 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.
How long would an option on my Whitby 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.
Who decides planning on an option plot in Whitby?
The decision belongs to North Yorkshire 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.
Other options in Whitby
- Build a new home in your garden
- Garage courts and yards
- Sell subject to planning
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Sell part of your garden
- Tandem and landlocked plots