Option agreements for land in Braintree
If you own land in or around Braintree, 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 Braintree
Send the postcode and a rough size.
Where Braintree sits
The land we're most interested in near Braintree sits on the edge of the built-up area or in the villages towards Witham (7 miles) and Chelmsford (10 miles).
| Town | Braintree |
|---|---|
| County | Essex |
| Country | England |
| Postcode district | CM7 |
| OS grid square | TL72 |
| Nearest towns we cover | Witham (7 mi), Chelmsford (10 mi), Maldon (11 mi) |
| Distance from Southend-on-Sea | About 25 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 |
Who an option agreement works best for
- Larger fields and blocks on the edge of towns and villages
- Land being considered in a local plan review
- Land needing access or infrastructure to be unlocked
- Owners who want to keep farming until development
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.
How the money works
Option fee
A payment on signing, which you usually keep even if the option isn't exercised.
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 Braintree that an option agreement suits
Large strategic sites in Braintree
The usual route: an option fee now and a price based on market value later.
Building plots in Braintree
Rarely needed for single plots.
Brownfield land in Braintree
Can suit larger brownfield sites with a longer planning route.
Inherited and probate land in Braintree
Can suit families who want to hold on while planning is explored.
How a sale works
Send us the address
A postcode, a plan or a what3words location is enough to start.
We check it properly
Title, planning history, access, flood maps and local policy.
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.
What England's rules mean for your land
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
- Your title number, if you know it
- Any planning applications or letters
- 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 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.
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.
How do I get an offer for land in Braintree?
Use the form on this page or call 0800 088 6248. Tell us the postcode, the rough size and anything you know about planning, and we'll come back to you.
Option agreements near Braintree
Other land types and routes
- 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 Braintree
- Option agreements in Essex
Ready to talk about your land in Braintree?
A free appraisal tells you what we'd pay and why.