Option agreements for land in Worthing
If you own land in or around Worthing, 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 agreement gives a buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy land within a set period, usually once planning permission is obtained. The landowner receives an option fee up front and, if the option is exercised, a price normally based on market value with permission, less agreed deductions.
- Free appraisal and written offer
- No pressure to decide
- We fund the planning work
Tell us about your land
Free, no-obligation appraisal.
Where Worthing sits
Worthing (BN11) sits in OS grid square TQ10, about 22 miles south of Crawley. Sites between here and Shoreham-by-Sea or Littlehampton are just as much of interest to us.
The South Downs National Park, Chichester Harbour and High Weald National Landscapes, and water neutrality rules that have affected new homes in the north of the county.
| Town | Worthing |
|---|---|
| County | West Sussex |
| Country | England |
| Postcode district | BN11 |
| OS grid square | TQ10 |
| Nearest towns we cover | Shoreham-by-Sea (5 mi), Portslade (7 mi), Littlehampton (7 mi) |
| Distance from Crawley | About 22 miles south |
| 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
- Owners happy to wait several years for a higher price
- Land needing access or infrastructure to be unlocked
- Owners who want to keep farming until development
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.
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 Worthing that an option agreement suits
Large strategic sites in Worthing
The usual route: an option fee now and a price based on market value later.
Land for affordable homes in Worthing
Useful while housing need is evidenced and a scheme is prepared.
Garage sites in Worthing
Rarely needed unless several garage owners are involved.
Landlocked land and access problems in Worthing
Useful while access is negotiated with neighbours.
What happens next
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.
Planning and legal points for land in West Sussex
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 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
- The address or postcode
- Any planning applications or letters
- Details of any tenants or grazing agreements
- Photos of the land and its access
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.
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.
How long do options last?
It varies with the site. Several years is typical for land needing local plan allocation, often with extension rights.
Do you cover the villages around Worthing?
Yes. Villages between Worthing, Shoreham-by-Sea and Portslade often have the kind of edge-of-settlement land we're looking for.
Option agreements near Worthing
Other land in Worthing
- 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 Worthing
- Option agreements in West Sussex
Get a straight answer about your land
Send the postcode and a rough size. We'll check the title and planning position and come back to you.