- Planning authority
- Mid Suffolk District Council
- Postcodes
- IP14
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.4 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Suffolk
The local picture in Stowmarket
Light can decide the size of the scheme an option leads to. Take the figures for Stowmarket: a midday sun of about 38° in late March means a wall rising 5 m to the eaves shades roughly 6.4 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.
What happens next in Stowmarket
The first stage, from enquiry to heads of terms, usually takes a few weeks. Agreeing and signing the option itself often takes a few months more, depending on how quickly both solicitors work and whether the title raises questions. The planning work then runs within the option period, at a pace set by surveys, pre-application advice and the decision time at Mid Suffolk District Council.
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.
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.
Worth checking early
- 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.
- Options have their own Capital Gains Tax treatment, so take advice from a tax adviser before signing.
Stowmarket: questions to ask
Who decides planning on an option plot in Stowmarket?
The decision belongs to Mid Suffolk District 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.
Could my neighbours in Stowmarket 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 Mid Suffolk District Council is more likely to approve.
Do I still own my garden in Stowmarket 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 Stowmarket 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.
Other options in Stowmarket
- Build a new home in your garden
- Large rear gardens
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Joint venture on your garden plot
- Tandem and landlocked plots