Any ideas regarding access issue to field?

StockportGerbil

Hi!
Apologies if this is in the wrong forum, but I couldn't really see where it should / could go.

[FONT=&quot]My back garden and five of my neighbours backs on to a field that I and my predecessors have had access to for in excess of 20 years. That access has been obviously used (there are gates onto the field from our gardens.) The field was sold to the local sixth form college who ‘redeveloped it’ which included building a fence to prevent our access despite our objections both to the college and the planning authorities.

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]I and the neighbours clubbed together to get a solicitor to try to resolve the situation, this got to the stage where counsel (an independant barrister) reviewed the case and believes there is an 80% chance of success of winning should the case come to court.

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]Collectively we have already paid over £2500 in legal fees and the solicitor was proposing a site visit with the barrister before they’d even quote for the next course of action (which would be something of the order of £25000.) I think my neighbours have taken the view that this is throwing good money after bad and (possibly because the neighbours still owe some money) the solicitor has stopped responding to me.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]In order to try and make some progress I sent a copy of the barristers report and a statement from a local estate agent stating the fence has had a significant impact upon the value of the property (estate agent guess £5000) to the college with a covering letter. The response was simply we do not believe you have any claim.[/FONT]


I would struggle to afford any more legal fees and certainly couldn't afford to £25K which was being spoken about. This is considered a boundary dispute by my household legal insurance company, so is not covered. I've tried asking some local solicitors if they'll take the case on - on a no win no fee basis with no joy.


At this point I've run out of ideas what to do as I don't seem to have any practically enforcable rights. Has anyone got any ideas other than just gritting my teeth?

Thanks


Kevin

poppysarah

Do you have rights of access in deeds?

I'd suggest the footpath lot but can't think what their proper name is - and it's probably not technically a right of way ...

Do a search for footpath society and see which one is in your area

Cannon_Fodder

£27.5k to possibly get £5k each back.

Might as well call it quits, as you might equally spend the next £25k and get nothing.

Barrister might be short of work...if he's so sure of 80%, he should do no-win no-fee...!

I also think the EA is taking the michael to say £5k for a gateway...if its worth so much, have you or one of your neighbours evidence that you willingly paid over market value to get the unofficial benefit of the gateway ? I don't think a "footpath" would confer added value, in many cases it would devalue, due to indeterminate public access...

If its never been officially recorded when any of the properties have come up for sale, I doubt it would be successful.

If it has, it should already have been successful.

lincroft1710

About 50 years ago my parents bought a house which backed on to a council owned playing field. Along with about 50 other houses there was a gate from the back garden giving access to the field. I do not believe they or any of the other house owners had any "rights" of access, the council unofficially allowed the situation, saying (I believe) it made it easier to retrieve any balls landing in gardens from official football/rugby/cricket matches played on the field. Many of the owners have since blocked the gates up as a deterrent to possible burglary.

I do not understand how you would have any claim for compensation for loss of value. Hundreds of thousands of homes have properties built at the end of their back gardens and unless there has been an horrendous mistake or neglect by local planners, as far as I am aware no compensation has ever been paid.

lincroft1710

I would echo Cannon Fodder's comment about footpaths, they are definitely a nuisance if you have one at side or rear of house.

StockportGerbil

Folks :-
Thanks for the replies and I guess I'd better explain a little more about the field.

It was a sports field - I believe there is / was a covenant on it that specifies it should only be used for sports purposes. It was surrounded by houses / the local Sunday school (who formerly owned it) and the local sixth form college (who bought it.) We had private access to that field which made it a safe place for my kids and grandkids to play and was certainly a plus point when I bought the house ten years ago.

Secondly I have a wooden fence which has ivy growing along the top of it, in order to maintain that fence (slap some of the creasote type stuff on) and chop back the ivy I need to get to the other side of it. That's no longer possible so I'll have to replace the fence and remove the ivy - not a job I'm looking forward to.

In answer to the specific points above

- there's nothing in the deeds / land registry details
- it's not a footpath as such and certainly not a public one
- I think access to the field does have some value it did to me - whether it's as much as £5K, dunno, I suspect that would be at the top end of its value though :-)
- If you have and use access to land, the owner of that land knows about that access, but doesn't give permission then you build up rights of access over time (20 years seems to be the accepted figure.)

Thanks again

Kevin

poppysarah

You should investigate the covenant maybe.

Why replace the fence? Take it down. If they've put a fence up then that's the boundary now?

You should if you want to go further speak to the footpath people - they are pretty knowledgable and will point you at the right legal stuff to be looking at.
You could teach yourself enough law to do the case yourself... but you could just take up another hobby.

lincroft1710

Even if there is/was a covenant, the only person/body who can enforce this (if they wanted to) is the person/body (or their successors) who made the covenant, you certainly can't.

A footpath has to go somewhere i.e. from A to B. So unless you could walk from your side of the field to a public footpath/bridleway/road on another side of the field a footpath cannot be said to have been created.

I personally would support the return of capital punishment for people who allow ivy to grow up their fences. Needing access to creosote the other side of the fence is a complete non starter as everybody who has a fence has this problem.

What were you actually hoping to achieve by going to court?

Fang_3

Why do you think you should have access to a field that you don't own?

tizerbelle

I wonder if the sixth form are planning on building on /developing the field in the future?

If they are and there has been more than 20 years use of the field for recreation purposes by locals they are at risk of people submitting a request under the Commons Act 2006 to designate the field as a village green and thus preventing any development.

However, as I understand it, if they fence the field off thus stopping access and no application is made for the village green designation within 2 years then they are free and clear to apply for planning permission safe in the knowledge that if PP is approved they will be able to develop the site and it will be too late for a village green application.

I am not legally trained in any way and have no personal experience of the application of this statute so I could be completely wrong or I might be right but just very cynical.

The Open Spaces Society may be able to advise / clarify / assist with this. I can't post a hyperlink to their website but it is www [dot] oss [dot] org [dot] uk (although I can't get on the site tonight).

ETA: You don't say when they put the fence up - if it was before 6 April 2007, under the transitional provision in the act you may be able to get a 5 year period from the challenge to use (i.e. putting up the fence) to submit the application

StockportGerbil

Hi!
Many thanks for the interest in this, it is appreciated. Answering some of the questions

- The sixth form college have now 'developed' the field by putting an astroturf football pitch down, floodlights and a number of tennis courts. So the village green angle has been and gone (although with 20/20 hindsight someone did mention it when the redevelopment plans had been submitted and I hadn't paid much attention to that idea then.)
- I think I should have access on the basis my house and those of my neighbours have had access since they were built in 1972 with the knowledge of the then land owners - over that time some rights build up.
- By going to court I would want compensation for the loss of access to the field (which as I've said is of value to me) and the fact I have to remove my fence which is going to be a swine of a job.

Thanks

Kevin