Garden plot option agreements in Carlton

If your garden in Carlton has potential but the route to planning isn’t simple, an option may be the most honest arrangement. It recognises that we need time, perhaps to secure access, bring in a neighbour’s land or work through the council’s Local Plan, and that you shouldn’t be asked to sell before that work is done.

You grant the right; we take on the cost and effort of planning. When an acceptable permission is in place, we can buy at the price the agreement sets, usually through a formula with a minimum underneath. Until then, nothing changes hands, and your reasonable legal fees are covered within an agreed cap.

Legal agreement, pen and a title plan with a garden plot outlined in red on a desk
Planning authority
Gedling Borough Council
Postcodes
NG4
Noon sun, 21 March
About 37°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.6 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Nottinghamshire

What shapes a plot in Carlton

Light can decide the size of the scheme an option leads to. Take the figures for Carlton: a midday sun of about 37° in late March means a wall rising 5 m to the eaves shades roughly 6.6 m of ground behind it, and with the December sun near 14°, 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.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Carlton: about 37 degrees on 21 March and 14 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 37°, shadow 6.6 m21 Dec, noon: sun 14°, shadow 20.7 mExistingNew home
This section is worked out for the latitude of Carlton: around 37° of sun at midday in late March and about 14° at midwinter. It shows why the gap between your house and a new home behind it is about light as well as privacy. Garden assumed to face north.

From first call to decision

To explore an option on your Carlton 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.

  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. 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.

  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

  • Options have their own Capital Gains Tax treatment, so take advice from a tax adviser before signing.
  • Your plot is tied up for the option period and can’t be sold to anyone else meanwhile.
  • With a market value formula, the final price isn’t known until the option is exercised.

Your questions, answered for Carlton

Who decides planning on an option plot in Carlton?

The decision belongs to Gedling 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.

Is an option better than selling my Carlton 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.

Do I pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) if you exercise an option over my Carlton 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.

Could my neighbours in Carlton 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 Gedling Borough Council is more likely to approve.

Other options in Carlton

Option agreement near Carlton

Find out what your garden could become

Free garden plot appraisal. No cost, no obligation, and a straight answer if it won’t work.