Option agreements for land in Barnstaple
If you own land in or around Barnstaple, option agreements is one of four ways you can sell it to us. Here's how it works and when it makes sense.
An option can capture more of your land's value where it needs a long planning journey, but the details matter. We explain every term before you commit.
- Free appraisal and written offer
- No commission: we're the buyer
- We fund the planning work
Get an offer for land in Barnstaple
Send the postcode and a rough size.
Where Barnstaple sits
From Barnstaple, it's 8 miles to Bideford and 28 miles to Tiverton. We buy land across that whole stretch of Devon, not only within the town.
A large rural county with Dartmoor and part of Exmoor, several national landscapes, and growth centred on Exeter, Plymouth and the market towns.
| Town | Barnstaple |
|---|---|
| County | Devon |
| Country | England |
| Postcode district | EX31 |
| OS grid square | SS53 |
| Nearest towns we cover | Bideford (8 mi), Tiverton (28 mi), Porthcawl (32 mi) |
| Distance from Plymouth | About 49 miles north |
| 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 |
Is an option agreement right for your land?
- Larger fields and blocks on the edge of towns and villages
- Holdings where several owners need to work together
- Land needing access or infrastructure to be unlocked
- Sites with technical issues that need time to resolve
An option can capture more of your land's value where it needs a long planning journey, but the details matter. We explain every term before you commit.
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 Barnstaple that an option agreement suits
Land for affordable homes in Barnstaple
Useful while housing need is evidenced and a scheme is prepared.
Paddocks and equestrian land in Barnstaple
Useful where the paddock could form part of a wider site.
Small sites in Barnstaple
Useful if land needs assembling from more than one owner.
Inherited and probate land in Barnstaple
Can suit families who want to hold on while planning is explored.
How a sale works
Tell us about your land
Send the postcode or address and a rough size.
We check it properly
Title, planning history, access, flood maps and local policy.
You get a written offer
With the main figures behind it, so your adviser can check it.
Solicitors complete the sale
Exchange and complete, or exchange now and complete when planning is granted.
Planning and legal points for land in Devon
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
- A plan, or a screenshot from an online map
- Details of any tenants or grazing agreements
- Photos of the land and its access
Your questions answered
What is an option agreement?
A contract that gives the buyer the right to buy your land within a set period, usually after planning permission is granted. You receive an option fee now and the purchase price if the option is exercised.
How long do options last?
It varies with the site. Several years is typical for land needing local plan allocation, often with extension rights.
What's the difference between an option and a promotion agreement?
Under an option the buyer has the right to buy the land. Under a promotion agreement a promoter gets permission and then sells the land on the open market, taking a share of the proceeds. We offer options, not promotion agreements.
Do you cover the villages around Barnstaple?
Yes. Villages between Barnstaple, Bideford and Tiverton often have the kind of edge-of-settlement land we're looking for.
Other land types and routes
- Development land
- Land with planning permission
- Land without planning permission
- Large strategic sites
- 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 Barnstaple
- Option agreements in Devon
Get a straight answer about your land
A free appraisal tells you what we'd pay and why.