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Option agreements for land in Hatfield

We offer an option agreement on land across Hertfordshire, including sites around Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City and St Albans.

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
  • Figures explained, so you can check them

Tell us about your land

Send the postcode and a rough size.

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Please enter a postcode, or at least the first half.
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Free and no obligation. We're the buyer, so there's no commission.

Where Hatfield sits

Hatfield lies in Hertfordshire, roughly 10 miles north-east of Watford. Nearby, we also look at land around Welwyn Garden City (3 miles), St Albans (5 miles) and Potters Bar (5 miles).

Most of the county is Metropolitan Green Belt, which makes land with genuine development prospects scarce and keenly contested.

TownHatfield
CountyHertfordshire
CountryEngland
Postcode districtAL10
OS grid squareTL20
Nearest towns we coverWelwyn Garden City (3 mi), St Albans (5 mi), Potters Bar (5 mi)
Distance from WatfordAbout 10 miles north-east
Planning systemNational Planning Policy Framework and local plan
When you're paidOption fee now, price when the option is exercised
Planning costsOurs, sometimes recoverable from the price
Two people in outdoor jackets walking along a hedgerow, one pointing across the field

When an option agreement suits land near Hatfield

  • Owners happy to wait several years for a higher price
  • Holdings where several owners need to work together
  • Land needing access or infrastructure to be unlocked
  • 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

Minimum price

A floor that protects you if values fall.

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 Hatfield that an option agreement suits

Development land in Hatfield

Suits larger fields where the planning route may take several years.

Land for affordable homes in Hatfield

Useful while housing need is evidenced and a scheme is prepared.

Garden land and backland in Hatfield

Useful when several neighbours' gardens are being assembled.

Landlocked land and access problems in Hatfield

Useful while access is negotiated with neighbours.

What happens next

  1. Tell us about your land

    Send the postcode or address and a rough size.

  2. We do the homework

    We read the title and planning record and check flood risk and access.

  3. You get a written offer

    With the main figures behind it, so your adviser can check it.

  4. 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.

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

  • Any planning applications or letters
  • Details of any tenants or grazing agreements
  • Photos of the land and its access
  • How soon you'd ideally like to sell

Questions from landowners near Hatfield

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.

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 buy land in Hatfield?

Yes. We consider land in and around Hatfield and across Hertfordshire. Whether we can make an offer depends on the land itself, especially its access and planning prospects, and we'll tell you either way.

Option agreements near Hatfield

More land we buy in Hatfield

Find out what we'd pay for your land near Hatfield

A free appraisal tells you what we'd pay and why.

Get an offerCall 0800 088 6248