Highway Visibility Line

billykeats

We have this paragraph in our deed covenants dated 22 May 1992:

"To maintain the highway visibility line as a grassed area and not to allow or cause the highway visibility line to be obstructed at any time in anyway likely to impede highway visibility from the estate roads and footpaths in reasonable opinion of the Surveyor for the time being of Bedfordshire County Council"

Would like to know if anybody knows much about this clause as I don't see why we need it as we live down a quiet cul-de-sac

Basically we have this bit of land to the side of our house that is about a metre wide from front end growing to about 4 metres at the back end by our drive of grass that we have constantly look after as it our land but every man & his dog or cat use it to foul on it or throw their rubbish on and we are getting sick of having to tend to it yet the council won't. People all park along this stretch of road anyway blocking any form of "highway visibility"

What we would like to know is if we could extend our house into this "highway visibility line" area that we own turning our 2 bed of terrace into a 3 bed and have an extended kitchen & garden which we won't resent tending as we would actually be using it.

Anyone ever had any luck doing just this and where did you start?

browneyedbazzi

I'm guessing your property is one of the corner plots at the junction with the road rather than down the end of the cul-de-sac?

If the land is considered to be part of the visibility display for users of the highway it's extremely unlikely that you will get permission to build on it.

deanogtv

As a highway engineer I can confirm that it is very unlikely that you will be able to build anything within the junctions 'visibilty splay'.
The reason for this splay is in place is to be able to safety see vehicles approaching your junction at speed. The higher the speed of the road the longer down the road you will need to see.
Thats not that say the 'splay envople' cover your entire place of land, it may just be a small section right at the begining for the land.

I can give you a better idea if you like if you PM me some more details.

billykeats

Thank you deanogtv. I will get something to you as soon as I can.

We are an of end of terrace near the end of a quiet cul-de-sac so bit bizarre that all this land would need to be for the highway visibility line