Option agreements for land in Hereford
For owners in Hereford and the HR1 area, an option agreement is worth understanding before you talk to any buyer, including us.
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
- Figures explained, so you can check them
Selling land near Hereford?
Send the postcode and a rough size.
Land around Hereford
The land we're most interested in near Hereford sits on the edge of the built-up area or in the villages towards Ross-on-Wye (12 miles) and Leominster (12 miles).
Deeply rural, with orchards, pasture and the Wye Valley National Landscape. Growth is concentrated on Hereford and the market towns.
| Town | Hereford |
|---|---|
| County | Herefordshire |
| Country | England |
| Postcode district | HR1 |
| OS grid square | SO54 |
| Nearest towns we cover | Ross-on-Wye (12 mi), Leominster (12 mi), Monmouth (17 mi) |
| 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
- Land being considered in a local plan review
- Owners happy to wait several years for a higher price
- Owners who want to keep farming until development
If your land could be allocated in a future local plan, an option keeps it moving towards development without you funding the work.
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.
Your obligations
Agreements set what you can and can't do with the land in the meantime.
Land near Hereford that an option agreement suits
Development land in Hereford
Suits larger fields where the planning route may take several years.
Land without planning permission in Hereford
We pay for the right to buy later and fund the planning work meanwhile.
Land for affordable homes in Hereford
Useful while housing need is evidenced and a scheme is prepared.
Brownfield land in Hereford
Can suit larger brownfield sites with a longer planning route.
From first call to completion
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.
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.
When the land isn't straightforward
You're worried about the deductions
Ask for a clear list and a cap on what can be deducted. We'll explain each one.
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
- Details of any tenants or grazing agreements
- Photos of the land and its access
- How soon you'd ideally like to sell
What people ask us about an option agreement
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.
Do I keep the option fee if you don't buy?
Normally, yes. The terms are set out in the agreement.
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 Hereford?
Yes. Villages between Hereford, Ross-on-Wye and Leominster often have the kind of edge-of-settlement land we're looking for.
More land we buy in Hereford
- 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 Hereford
- Option agreements in Herefordshire
Find out what we'd pay for your land near Hereford
A free appraisal tells you what we'd pay and why.