Adopting an unadopted road

25.lindsay · 5 December 2012 at 2:13PM

Hope someone can help, I live in a street of about 25 houses, set off from the main road, so is unadopted. Recently a builder purchased some adjacent land, and has carried out excavation works, and a land survey for future potential of developing. Due to the nature of the unadopted road, obviously, rather bumpy and full of potholes, it really would not withstand heavytraffic, plus we would all be effected with the extra traffic congesting the entrance/exit to our road.

I recently recieved back from the Land Registry a SIM search confirming the land belongs to no-one.

We are looking to set up a residents association in view of adopting the land to the association so the builders would have to grant our permissions to access the cut-through he has made to his land.

Does anyone out there have any advice they could offer me for where to start setting up such a group

Mallotum_X · 5 December 2012 at 2:34PM

What do your deeds say about access.

Can you not speak with the builder about bringing the road up to standard and getting it adopted. If he is planning on building houses he may see it as in his interest to deal with the access.

25.lindsay · 5 December 2012 at 3:17PM

we don't want any houses built, it is not in our local councils development plans, there is unsufficient access as well as changing others residents views. residents who have recently bought houses down here had to take out idemnity insurance due to nature of the street and their rights of access. As tennants, i do not have access to our deeds on our house.

Land_Registry · 5 December 2012 at 3:24PM

25.lindsay wrote: »

I recently recieved back from the Land Registry a SIM search confirming the land belongs to no-one.

It might be helpful to point out that a SIM result does not confirm whether land is owned or not. The main purpose of a SIM result is to confirm whether the land is registered.

If the result has revealed that the land is unregistered it means that there is no record of legal ownership. The land will still be owned but establishing their identity is naturally that much harder.

Mallotum X's advice re what your (and the other properties) deeds/title say about access/rights of way etc is relevant as a) it establishes your legal rights of access/way and b) may also provide a clue as to the ownership e.g. a deed or the title may refer to who granted the right of access/way and when.

There are no hard and fast rules to this as some rights are registered simply e.g. the land has a right of way over the road tinted brown and the originals of the right are unknown.

I would recommend spending some time investigating this aspect further to see what information or rights already exist. Your title, deeds or those of your neighbours may be able to provide such information but you can also Contact Us - we may be able to advise whether we have anything that might be relevant and if so how to apply for a copy and at what cost.

The adoption of roads is dealt with by the local authority and often, after a site has been developed, the road(s) are adopted although they will be able to advise on the process involved and any implications for the developer.

Finally, although setting up a residents' assoc or group makes sense I have not heard of the situation where such a group are able to adopt the land. Claiming ownership may not be an option as so many people will have access to the road and presumably some/all have rights over it. But registering the benefit of such rights may be an option if appropriate. Our Practice Guide 52 provides some guidance on the subject of such rights (easements) which may assist - the guide is aimed at conveyancers and we would always recommend seeking legal advice on such matters as we are unable to provide such advice.

Land_Registry · 5 December 2012 at 3:30PM

25.lindsay wrote: »

we don't want any houses built, it is not in our local councils development plans, there is unsufficient access as well as changing others residents views. residents who have recently bought houses down here had to take out idemnity insurance due to nature of the street and their rights of access. As tennants, i do not have access to our deeds on our house.

Your post preceded mine by a few minutes and raise other issues as well

Issues of planning etc will lie with the LA so that is one option to pursue based on what you have posted.

If the property you lease/rent is registered then you can view a copy of the title online or obtain one by post - read our FAQ on the subject

The fact that your neighbours took out indemnity insurance demonstrates that their own titles did not record the existence of any rights of access/way over the road. Whilst it might be worth checking to see if any do not have such insurance it is important to note that whilst it might mean they have such rights registered it could also mean that the issue of access was not raised/considered at the time of purchase of course.

I have left my original post intact as it may be helpful to others

paddedjohn · 5 December 2012 at 3:33PM

If the builder has purchased his land and you are only renting yours then surely he has more right to the road than you. You say that building the houses isn't in your councils development plan well if that's the case then surely the council will refuse planning permission. The owner of your house might be in favour of the development.

auroan · 5 December 2012 at 3:41PM

This thread smacks of nimbyism.

Who's to say the builder hasn't already factored in the upgrade of the road in his costings or that he hasn't approached the council to have it adopted ? When/if he goes for planning permission.... the council will probably want the road updated by the builder anyway so they can adopt it.

Why not sit down and speak to the builder and ask what his plans are ?

cajef · 5 December 2012 at 4:12PM

25.lindsay wrote: »

Due to the nature of the unadopted road, obviously, rather bumpy and full of potholes, it really would not withstand heavytraffic, plus we would all be effected with the extra traffic congesting the entrance/exit to our road.

The road must have withstood heavy traffic at some time if there are already 25 houses built there, any site work on any property or building would require traffic but it is only temporary.

25.lindsay · 5 December 2012 at 4:40PM

well auroan i don't understand "nimbyism" and just had to google it.
Well actually FYI the whole village residents association is up in arms over this as he went in without any planning permissions/applications, tore down 2 dozen trees plus, cleared the land, including dislodging japanese knotweed, on a flood plain etc etc.... need i explain myself to you!??? Rant over.

Thank you to the Land Registry Rep who has kindly offered sensible advice. I shall read and digest these comments post kiddies bedtime, as time is of the essence - this builder is known for ploughing ahead and over developing small plots of land.

Mallotum_X · 5 December 2012 at 5:01PM

He wont be able to do anything without planning permission.

From his point of view he is entitled to access and to clear the trees etc if they ae not in any way protected then he probably wouldnt need any permission for this. Whilst I can understand why you would not want this to happen, there is no point in ranting on here. At the end of the day the country needs more houses and they will have to be built somewhere.

Check if he has applied for planning - most local authorities have an online planning portal, so you can see what if any plans exist. He wont be able to build more houses than he gets permission for. If you decide to object to an application then you need to object to things such as over development, change of character of the area, not the noise and disruption during building.

Have you spoken to you landlord and made him aware of your concerns. As a tenant you could consider moving to avoid the hassle, you are in an easier position to do this if you wanted to compared to the owner-occupiers in the road.

25.lindsay · 5 December 2012 at 5:15PM

I only ranted in respect to being insulted with nimbyism. I am looking for advice for how we as a community could take this further. Unfortunately I got shot down.

Yes, we cn move. It is not our property. We are not financially implicated should a development occur. I am just trying to be a good person and help all the residents affected, some are elderly, some don't drive etc etc... He had no planning permission, he has not even applied. I have advice from our local councillors, they advised us to set up a community group to adopt the road in the first place! The local community residents association are as up in arms as the residents of our street, just unfortuntely as ever, these things fall onto one person to co-ordinate. Hey ho.

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Adopting an unadopted road

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