Option agreement for land in Lancashire
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 Lancashire
We use option agreements for suitable land across Lancashire. Lancashire includes Preston, Blackburn, Burnley, Blackpool and Lancaster alongside the Fylde coast resorts, the East Lancashire mill towns and many rural villages. Green Belt covers much of the south and east, between the Merseyside and Greater Manchester conurbations, and smaller areas around Blackpool and Lancaster. Former mill and industrial land, edge-of-town fields and village infill are the usual sources of housing land, with grey belt now relevant on parts of the urban fringe.
The Forest of Bowland and Arnside and Silverdale National Landscapes and a small part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park cover the rural north and east. Flood risk on the Fylde coast, the Ribble and the Lune shapes many sites, and the M6, M55 and M65 corridors link the main towns.
The August 2026 NPPF supports homes within reasonable walking distance (around 800 metres) of well-connected railway stations, with minimum densities of 35 homes per hectare, or 45 near higher-frequency stations.
Since 6 August 2026, non-major development on sites of 0.2 hectares or less in England has generally been exempt from mandatory biodiversity net gain, unless priority habitat is affected. That makes many small sites simpler to bring forward.
Some land in Lancashire 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 Lancashire fall within Forest of Bowland National Landscape, Arnside and Silverdale National Landscape and Yorkshire Dales National Park. 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 Lancashire that often suits an option agreement
WantedResidential development land
Around Preston, 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.
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WantedLand without planning permission
Plenty of land around Preston 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.
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WantedBrownfield land
Former works, depots and yards in and around Preston 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
In parts of Preston with long gardens or rear lanes, backland plots can work well if the access is wide enough and neighbours are treated fairly. Helpful where several gardens are being combined over time.
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WantedFarmland and paddocks
We are looking for farmland near Preston with a realistic access, ideally land the owner has already put forward to the local plan. The usual route for larger farmland: you keep farming and we promote the land.
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WantedGreen Belt and grey belt land
Where Green Belt land in Lancashire is already hemmed in by roads or existing homes, a grey belt case may be worth testing. The common route: promoting Green Belt land can take time.
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WantedSites with lapsed or refused planning
We read the planning history of sites across Preston 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
If your land near Preston appears in the council's plan or its site assessments, send us the reference; it changes the conversation. Suits land at earlier plan stages.
Learn moreTowns we cover in Lancashire
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 Lancashire?
Yes. We use option agreements across Lancashire and the rest of England, where the structure suits the site and the owner.