Option agreement for land in Kent
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 Kent
Option agreement is one of four ways we buy land in Kent. Kent ranges from the Medway towns, Dartford and Gravesend on the Thames to Maidstone, Ashford, Canterbury, Tunbridge Wells and the coastal towns of Margate, Ramsgate, Folkestone and Dover. West Kent is largely Metropolitan Green Belt, while the Kent Downs and High Weald National Landscapes cover much of the countryside. Sites typically include edge-of-town fields, orchards and farmland, farm buildings, infill plots and brownfield land in the towns.
Nutrient neutrality advice has affected the Stour catchment around Canterbury and Ashford because of the protected Stodmarsh wetlands. High Speed 1 stations and the M2, M20 and A2 corridors are a focus for growth, while coastal flood risk matters on the Thames and Swale estuaries and Romney Marsh.
National policy in England now recognises "medium development" of 10 to 49 homes on sites up to 2.5 hectares, and asks councils to allocate at least 10% of their housing on sites of one hectare or less and a further 10% on sites of one to 2.5 hectares.
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.
Some land in Kent is designated Green Belt. If your land is within it, it may still qualify as grey belt or previously developed land under national policy, subject to the Golden Rules.
Parts of Kent fall within Kent Downs National Landscape and High Weald National Landscape. Protected landscapes carry strong policy protection, so land in or next to them needs particularly careful assessment.
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 Kent that often suits an option agreement
WantedResidential development land
Around Maidstone, the residential land that tends to work is close to existing homes, shops and transport rather than out on its own. Suits larger or longer-term land where planning may take several years.
Learn more
WantedLand without planning permission
Plenty of land around Maidstone has never had permission. What we look for first is whether new homes would fit with the existing pattern of the place. Suits bigger sites or longer timescales; you are paid a premium and keep the land meanwhile.
Learn more
WantedBrownfield land
Brownfield land in Maidstone tends to be well located for homes; the questions are usually about contamination, demolition and neighbours. Less common, but possible on larger regeneration land.
Learn more
WantedGarden and backland plots
Backland development in Maidstone 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.
Learn more
WantedFarmland and paddocks
Around Maidstone, 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.
Learn more
WantedStrategic land
Larger landholdings on the approaches to Maidstone are where strategic land usually comes from, particularly near transport links. The standard route: we fund promotion and you are paid on sale.
Learn more
WantedCommercial and industrial sites
In Maidstone, industrial land that has drifted out of use can often be reimagined as homes, subject to the council's view on employment land. Possible for larger estates being phased out.
Learn more
WantedSites with lapsed or refused planning
Sites around Maidstone with an old refusal can be worth a second look, especially where local or national policy has since changed. Suits larger sites needing a longer route.
Learn moreTowns we cover in Kent
Option agreement: questions
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.
What if you never exercise the option?
At the end of the option period the land is released, you normally keep the premium, and we remove our notice from your title.
Do you use option agreements for land in Kent?
Yes. We use option agreements across Kent and the rest of England, where the structure suits the site and the owner.