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Amenity Land

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The_Real_Cheddar_Bob
The_Real_Cheddar_Bob Posts: 542 Forumite
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in House buying, renting & selling
Hi all,

i have the opportunity to purchase a piece of land, roughly an acre in size. The land is amenity land and is not currently fenced in.

I'm happy for the local population to continue using the land if they currently are, but i would like to fence the perimeter and put a gate on the land, not locked, but the purpose is so my dogs can be let off without them running away.

anyone with experience with thi sort of land purchase?
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  • ScorpiondeRooftrouser
    ScorpiondeRooftrouser Posts: 2,851 Forumite
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    Don't do it. It sounds like a nightmare. Even if it's in a "nice" place the gates and fences will be vandalised withing days if all and sundry are using the land.

    If it's currently free for everybody to use and you can't stop it being free for everybody to use, what would you be gaining by owning it?
  • The_Real_Cheddar_Bob
    The_Real_Cheddar_Bob Posts: 542 Forumite
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    the ability to fence it in so i can let my huskies off the lead. that is the only purpose.

    The village has 5/6 houses, so the population that would potentially use it, bare in mind the vast wood lands surrounding it would be 10-20 people
  • Momlovessavingmoney
    Momlovessavingmoney Posts: 15 Forumite
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    ScorpiondeRooftrouser wrote: »
    Don't do it. It sounds like a nightmare. Even if it's in a "nice" place the gates and fences will be vandalised withing days if all and sundry are using the land.

    If it's currently free for everybody to use and you can't stop it being free for everybody to use, what would you be gaining by owning it?


    Exactly :j:j
  • Mojisola
    Mojisola Posts: 35,557 Forumite
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    rjwr wrote: »
    the ability to fence it in so i can let my huskies off the lead. that is the only purpose.

    The village has 5/6 houses, so the population that would potentially use it, bare in mind the vast wood lands surrounding it would be 10-20 people

    Do the neighbours use it for picnics or letting the children run around?

    Would you get complaints about the dog mess? It's not always easy to keep track of dogs pooping if they're running free.
  • The_Real_Cheddar_Bob
    The_Real_Cheddar_Bob Posts: 542 Forumite
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    i don't fully know, it is in the middle of the country. there are no benches or seating of any sort, the grass is very long but there is a circular path that shows a small amount of usage, not enough to make stop the grass growing just flattens it.

    i'm happy to buy it, but im trying to educate myself if im able to fence it as otherwise its just a piece of land that changes ownership and we benefit in no shape or form
  • teneighty
    teneighty Posts: 1,347 Forumite
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    If it is classed as public amenity land you could well need planning permission to fence it.
  • glasgowdan
    glasgowdan Posts: 2,967 Forumite
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    How would you cope with an injury lawsuit if someone using the land broke their ankle and couldn't work for 6 months and came at you with professional lawyers looking for loss of earnings and costs?
  • eddddy
    eddddy Posts: 16,442 Forumite
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    "Amenity land" doesn't necessarily imply that it is public land, or that the public should have access to it.

    For example, it might be providing 'visual amenity' - i.e. its presence makes the area look nice.

    You'll probably need planning consent to fence the land. It might be refused, for example, if it reduces 'visual amenity' - i.e. a fence would make the area look ugly.

    Have a discussion with the local planning department before buying.
  • The_Real_Cheddar_Bob
    The_Real_Cheddar_Bob Posts: 542 Forumite
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    thank you all for the advice. I have emailed the planning department today as they do not accept calls for planning questions. They may also charge for the advice which is small fry compared to a law suit :)
  • eddddy
    eddddy Posts: 16,442 Forumite
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    rjwr wrote: »
    thank you all for the advice. I have emailed the planning department today as they do not accept calls for planning questions. They may also charge for the advice which is small fry compared to a law suit :)

    If you put up a fence, there wouldn't be a law suit as such.

    If somebody complained to the planning department, they might ask you to apply for retrospective planning consent.

    If you failed to apply, or your application was refused, you'd then get an enforcement notice.

    If you then took down the fence, that would be the end of it.

    Although perhaps some of the local residents would look at you very sternly and tut, and talk about you at coffee mornings, because you broke the rules.
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