Option agreements for land in Lower Earley
If you own land near Lower Earley, you may be wondering whether an option agreement would suit you. The answer depends on your land's planning prospects and how soon you want to be paid.
If your land could be allocated in a future local plan, an option keeps it moving towards development without you funding the work.
- Free appraisal and written offer
- No commission: we're the buyer
- No pressure to decide
Selling land near Lower Earley?
Free, no-obligation appraisal.
Land around Lower Earley
Lower Earley (RG6) sits in OS grid square SU77, roughly 3 miles south-east of Reading. Sites between here and Reading or Crowthorne are just as much of interest to us.
| Town | Lower Earley |
|---|---|
| County | Berkshire |
| Country | England |
| Postcode district | RG6 |
| OS grid square | SU77 |
| Nearest towns we cover | Reading (3 mi), Wokingham (4 mi), Crowthorne (7 mi) |
| Distance from Reading | About 3 miles south-east |
| Planning system | National Planning Policy Framework and local plan |
| When you're paid | Option fee now, price when the option is exercised |
| Planning costs | Ours, sometimes recoverable from the price |
Who an option agreement works best for
- Larger fields and blocks on the edge of towns and villages
- Owners happy to wait several years for a higher price
- Owners who want to keep farming until development
- Sites with technical issues that need time to resolve
Options are the usual way to bring larger sites forward. They let us invest in planning while you keep ownership and the use of your land.
How the money works
Purchase price
Often a percentage of market value with permission, less agreed costs.
Term
How long we have to secure permission and exercise the option.
Deductions
Which planning and infrastructure costs come off the price before you're paid.
Exercise triggers
What has to happen before we can buy.
Land near Lower Earley that an option agreement suits
Development land in Lower Earley
Suits larger fields where the planning route may take several years.
Green belt and grey belt land in Lower Earley
Common for green belt land promoted through a local plan review.
Land for affordable homes in Lower Earley
Useful while housing need is evidenced and a scheme is prepared.
Brownfield land in Lower Earley
Can suit larger brownfield sites with a longer planning route.
How a sale works
Send us the address
A postcode, a plan or a what3words location is enough to start.
We do the homework
We read the title and planning record and check flood risk and access.
We put an offer in writing
It shows how we got there. There's no obligation to accept.
The legal work
Your solicitor and ours handle the contract through to completion.
Rules that apply in England
Planning framework
Planning decisions in England follow the National Planning Policy Framework, revised in August 2026, and the local plan, prepared by the council or, in a national park, the park authority. Plans are reviewed periodically, which is when new housing sites are usually allocated.
Section 106 and CIL
Larger schemes often need a Section 106 agreement for affordable housing or contributions, and councils that have adopted the Community Infrastructure Levy charge it per square metre of new floorspace.
Awkward details we deal with
You want to be sure we'll actually pursue planning
Agreements can include obligations to use reasonable endeavours and set milestones.
You'd like your advisers' costs covered
Many option agreements include a contribution to the landowner's legal and agent costs. We'll tell you if ours does.
Useful to send us
- A rough size, in acres or hectares
- Your title number, if you know it
- Details of any tenants or grazing agreements
- How soon you'd ideally like to sell
What people ask us about an option agreement
Do I keep the option fee if you don't buy?
Normally, yes. The terms are set out in the agreement.
How is the price set?
Usually as a percentage of the land's market value once permission is granted, minus agreed costs, with a minimum price. The percentage and deductions are negotiated.
Can I sell to someone else during the option?
Not usually. The option binds the land, and it's normally registered against your title.
Do you cover the villages around Lower Earley?
Yes. Villages between Lower Earley, Reading and Wokingham often have the kind of edge-of-settlement land we're looking for.
More land we buy in Lower Earley
- Development land
- Land with planning permission
- Land without planning permission
- Large strategic sites
- Green belt and grey belt land
- Land for affordable homes
- Farmland and agricultural land
- Paddocks and equestrian land
- Barns and rural buildings
- Building plots
- Garden land and backland
- Infill plots and gap sites
- Small sites
- Garage sites
- Brownfield land
- Redundant commercial and industrial land
- Inherited and probate land
- Landlocked land and access problems
- Outright purchase
- Subject-to-planning sale
- Joint ventures
- All land in Lower Earley
- Option agreements in Berkshire
Get a straight answer about your land
Call 0800 088 6248 or send the details. There's no obligation.