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- National planning policy
- NPPF
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- Warwick
Getting it right in Warwickshire
Local plans change over time. Councils in Warwickshire review their policies, and a review can alter settlement boundaries, allocate sites or adopt new guidance on garden development. An option gives time to work with that cycle rather than against it, which is one reason options are used where the current policy position under the council’s Local Plan is finely balanced. It isn’t a reason to sign a long option on a simple plot, though. The period should match the planning task, and the agreement should say what we must do within it.
Planning authorities covering Warwickshire include North Warwickshire Borough Council, Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, Rugby Borough Council, Stratford-on-Avon District Council, Warwick District 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 Warwickshire
Questions about option agreement in Warwickshire
Do you offer option agreements on garden plots in Warwickshire?
Yes, where an option is the right fit. That usually means plots where planning is uncertain, more land is needed, or the number of homes is genuinely open. For straightforward plots in Warwickshire, an outright sale or a sale subject to planning is often better, and we’ll say so.
Which councils decide planning on option plots in Warwickshire?
It depends on where the plot sits. Applications in Warwickshire go to the council for the address, among them North Warwickshire Borough Council, Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, Rugby Borough Council, Stratford-on-Avon District Council and Warwick District Council, and each works to its own Local Plan and the NPPF. During the option period, we submit the application to whichever authority covers your garden and deal with its questions.
Are my legal fees covered on an option in Warwickshire?
Yes. We cover reasonable legal fees for your solicitor on an option agreement, up to a cap agreed in heads of terms. That lets you take proper independent advice on the agreement, which you should always do before granting an option over any part of your land.
How long does planning take for a garden plot in Warwickshire?
The council usually has eight weeks from validation to decide a small application, though extensions are often agreed, and the whole process takes longer. Surveys, design work, pre-application advice and amendments all add time, and some ecology surveys can only be done at certain times of year. We’ll give you a realistic timetable for your plot rather than a promise.