Option agreements for land in Chesham
Before you agree an option agreement on land near Chesham, it helps to know exactly when you'd be paid, who carries the planning risk and how the price is set.
If your land could be allocated in a future local plan, an option keeps it moving towards development without you funding the work.
- No commission: we're the buyer
- No pressure to decide
- Independent advice encouraged
Get an offer for land in Chesham
Send the postcode and a rough size.
Chesham at a glance
Land around Chesham falls under England's planning system. The closest towns we also cover are Amersham on the Hill, 2 miles away, and Amersham, 2 miles away, and Milton Keynes is 25 miles away.
| Town | Chesham |
|---|---|
| County | Buckinghamshire |
| Country | England |
| Postcode district | HP5 |
| OS grid square | SP90 |
| Nearest towns we cover | Amersham on the Hill (2 mi), Amersham (2 mi), Berkhamsted (4 mi) |
| Distance from Milton Keynes | About 25 miles south |
| 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 |
When an option agreement suits land near Chesham
- Larger fields and blocks on the edge of towns and villages
- Owners happy to wait several years for a higher price
- Land needing access or infrastructure to be unlocked
- Sites with technical issues that need time to resolve
If your land could be allocated in a future local plan, an option keeps it moving towards development without you funding the work.
What to check in an option agreement
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 Chesham that an option agreement suits
Land with planning permission in Chesham
Rarely needed once consent exists, but can suit phased sites.
Land without planning permission in Chesham
We pay for the right to buy later and fund the planning work meanwhile.
Large strategic sites in Chesham
The usual route: an option fee now and a price based on market value later.
Small sites in Chesham
Useful if land needs assembling from more than one owner.
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.
Solicitors complete the sale
Exchange and complete, or exchange now and complete when planning is granted.
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.
Common problems, and how we handle them
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
- The address or postcode
- A rough size, in acres or hectares
- Your title number, if you know it
- Any planning applications or letters
Common questions
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 Chesham?
Yes. Villages between Chesham, Amersham on the Hill and Amersham often have the kind of edge-of-settlement land we're looking for.
Also near Chesham
Other land in Chesham
- 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 Chesham
- Option agreements in Buckinghamshire
Get a straight answer about your land
A free appraisal tells you what we'd pay and why.