Option agreement for land in the East Riding of Yorkshire
You grant us the right to buy within a set period, usually for an option premium, while we pursue planning.
An option agreement gives us the right, but not the obligation, to buy land within an agreed period, usually once planning is secured. The landowner is usually paid an option premium on signing and keeps the land meanwhile. On option agreements we pay the landowner's reasonable legal costs, with a cap agreed in the heads of terms.
Option agreement for land in the East Riding of Yorkshire
We use option agreements for suitable land across the East Riding of Yorkshire. The East Riding of Yorkshire, as used here, includes Kingston upon Hull as well as Beverley, Bridlington, Goole, Driffield and many villages across the Wolds and Holderness. There is no Green Belt, and land around the Humber estuary and in Holderness is often in high flood risk zones, which strongly influences where housing can go. Sites typically include edge-of-town and village land, farm buildings and former commercial or port-related land in Hull.
A proposal to designate the Yorkshire Wolds as a new National Landscape was submitted to the Secretary of State in September 2026 and awaits a decision. The Holderness coast is one of the fastest-eroding in Europe, so coastal change can rule out sites, while the A63 and M62 corridor links Hull and Goole westwards.
In England, a planning permission normally has to be implemented within three years unless the council sets a different period, and councils aim to decide minor applications within eight weeks and major ones within thirteen.
English councils keep brownfield land registers, and some previously developed sites can be granted permission in principle, a quicker way of establishing whether housing is acceptable before technical details are settled.
The East Riding of Yorkshire has no designated Green Belt, so the main policy questions near Beverley are usually the settlement boundary, landscape and access.
In short: you grant us the right to buy within a set period, usually for an option premium, while we pursue planning. It usually suits farmland and larger edge-of-settlement sites; strategic land needing local plan promotion; owners happy to wait for a better price. See how an option agreement works for the full process, pros and cons.
Land in the East Riding of Yorkshire that often suits an option agreement
WantedLand without planning permission
For land on the edges of Beverley with no consent yet, the first questions are access, flood risk and how the council's current plan treats the area. Suits bigger sites or longer timescales; you are paid a premium and keep the land meanwhile.
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WantedBrownfield land
Former works, depots and yards in and around Beverley can make good housing sites once the ground and neighbouring uses are understood. Less common, but possible on larger regeneration land.
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WantedGarden and backland plots
Backland development in Beverley turns on access and privacy; we look at both before suggesting whether an application is worth making. Helpful where several gardens are being combined over time.
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WantedFarmland and paddocks
Around Beverley, paddocks and fields beside existing homes can have real potential, even where they have been grazed or farmed for generations. The usual route for larger farmland: you keep farming and we promote the land.
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WantedStrategic land
Around Beverley, strategic sites tend to be the big fields between the built edge and the main roads, where a whole new neighbourhood could be planned. The standard route: we fund promotion and you are paid on sale.
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WantedCommercial and industrial sites
Older business land around Beverley, especially units now surrounded by housing, is the kind of commercial site we would like to discuss. Possible for larger estates being phased out.
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WantedSites with lapsed or refused planning
We read the planning history of sites across Beverley closely; a past refusal often points straight to the fix. Suits larger sites needing a longer route.
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WantedAllocated and promoted land
Around Beverley, allocated sites and land put forward to the council are usually the furthest along, so they can often move faster than land at an earlier stage. Suits land at earlier plan stages.
Learn moreTowns we cover in the East Riding of Yorkshire
Option agreement: questions
How long do options last?
It varies with the site and the planning route, from a few years for smaller sites to longer for strategic land. Extension terms are often included.
How is the price worked out?
Commonly as market value with planning, less an agreed discount and allowable costs, often with a minimum price. Take independent advice on the mechanism.
Do you really pay my legal costs?
On option agreements we pay the landowner's reasonable legal costs, up to a cap that we agree in the heads of terms.
Do you use option agreements for land in the East Riding of Yorkshire?
Yes. We use option agreements across the East Riding of Yorkshire and the rest of England, where the structure suits the site and the owner.