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Option agreements for land in Dover

For owners in Dover and the CT16 area, an option agreement is worth understanding before you talk to any buyer, including us.

Options are the usual way to bring larger sites forward. They let us invest in planning while you keep ownership and the use of your land.

  • Free appraisal and written offer
  • Figures explained, so you can check them
  • Independent advice encouraged

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Free, no-obligation appraisal.

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Free and no obligation. We're the buyer, so there's no commission.

Land around Dover

Dover (CT16) sits in OS grid square TR34, roughly 36 miles east of Maidstone. Sites between here and Folkestone or Canterbury are just as much of interest to us.

Metropolitan Green Belt in the west, the Kent Downs and High Weald National Landscapes, and growth around Ashford, Maidstone and the Medway towns.

TownDover
CountyKent
CountryEngland
Postcode districtCT16
OS grid squareTR34
Nearest towns we coverFolkestone (7 mi), Deal (8 mi), Canterbury (15 mi)
Distance from MaidstoneAbout 36 miles 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

Who an option agreement works best for

  • 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.

The terms that matter

Option fee

A payment on signing, which you usually keep even if the option isn't exercised.

Purchase price

Often a percentage of market value with permission, less agreed costs.

Minimum price

A floor that protects you if values fall.

Deductions

Which planning and infrastructure costs come off the price before you're paid.

Land near Dover that an option agreement suits

Large strategic sites in Dover

The usual route: an option fee now and a price based on market value later.

Green belt and grey belt land in Dover

Common for green belt land promoted through a local plan review.

Garden land and backland in Dover

Useful when several neighbours' gardens are being assembled.

Redundant commercial and industrial land in Dover

Useful where vacant possession is some way off.

What happens next

  1. Send us the address

    A postcode, a plan or a what3words location is enough to start.

  2. We check it properly

    Title, planning history, access, flood maps and local policy.

  3. You get a written offer

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

  4. 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.

Awkward details we deal with

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

  • A rough size, in acres or hectares
  • A plan, or a screenshot from an online map
  • Any planning applications or letters
  • Details of any tenants or grazing agreements

Your questions answered

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.

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 Dover?

Yes. We consider land in and around Dover and across Kent. 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 Dover

Other land in Dover

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

Call 0800 088 6248 or send the details. There's no obligation.

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