"Unadopted" rear alley way?

KayTM

The terraced house we're proposing to buy has pedestrian access to the rear via a footpath. This is horribly overgrown and access isn't possible. It's noted on the details we got from our solicitor as being "unadopted". I think that this means that the council does not accept the responsibility to maintain it. Is that correct?

I would be perfectly happy to pay to have our share of the path cleared and maintained, but it would also need the other owners to agree to do theirs. However, when I looked at the land registry document - with "our" property outlined in red - it appears we don't own "our" section of the path.

I think rear access, albeit only for pedestrians, would add use and therefore value to the property. What do you advise I should do?

If the council owns the land, then how come they can absolve responsibility by "unadopting" it? What, if anything, can be done?

Thanks in advance.

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If it's unadopted the council don't own it, so they are not absolving any responsibility. It is common with these alleys the owner is unknown. In terms of clearance of your share I'd suggest way forward would be to see if you can all clear together when you move in or contribute to contractor clearing. It may have been left to overgrow by other neighbours to stop trespassers etc though. So maybe a chat with neighbours before you buy would be abetter idea.

AdrianC

Yes, you're right - unadopted means the council do not accept any responsibility for maintenance.

Do the council own the land? You're making an assumption there. Maybe the land is owned by the successors of the original developers. Maybe the ownership has been lost in the mists of time.

The easiest solution would be to shrug, get out your gardening gloves, and DIY. You may well find that your neighbours see what you're doing and join in. Maybe get them together over a bottle of wine or two and see who's interested?

KayTM

Thanks. Yes, I had wondered about setting up a small residents' committee if one doesn't already exist. I thought we could perhaps clear it and maintain it as a communal project and put a locked gate at either end. The residents would all have keys to give them access.

Alternatively, I wondered about buying that land. It would be of no use to anyone other than a resident - it's only a strip 3 feet wide. If I owned it, then I would pay for its maintenance - and if any of the other residents subsequently wanted to use it, they could pay me for access. LOL - like a toll gate. I'll hire someone to sit at the gate and collect their money.

Seriously, with all these big gardens with no rear access, if you want anything done in the garden, even replacing fence panels, it's going to be a real pain to traipse the equipment all through the house.

If the council doesn't own it, then I suspect it may still be owned by the original developers - as suggested. In which case they may agree to a long lease on a peppercorn rent. That's assuming they can be tracked down.

I would ask my solicitor but we're waiting to exchange so I don't want to distract her right now.

AdrianC

I doubt you could restrict access to residents only.

And there's no need to be so formal as a committee - just get in there and do it!

silvercar

You have to consider if you still want the property if access proves impossible.

KayTM

I've heard that these alleys are often used for nefarious purposes, and that many of the maintained ones have restricted access, ie locked gates. After all, it's private land with no right of way. There is no legitimate reason whatsoever for anyone to use the alley unless they need rear access to the terraced houses.

The idea was meant to be an informal committee - just a small group of residents agreeing to participate in the communal project. Perhaps "committee" was the wrong word.

I suppose I could "just get in there and do it" - but it's not my land. I'm a bit reluctant to take on responsibility and expense to improve someone else's land if they might not agree to it.

Perhaps the first step is to try to find out who owns it.

It's not a deal breaker. I just thought it would be an improvement which would be of benefit to most.

Running_Horse

Your ideas are positive, but be prepared for the indifference, laziness and outright hostility that could follow a new resident trying to organise things.

Davesnave

I think going in as a new resident and immediately attempting to form a committee would have you labelled as trouble right away!

The first law of entering a new community is, 'Don't upset the status quo, especially until you know who's who and what's what!'

For whatever reasons, residents have allowed the state of the footpath to become as it is now. For all you know, several of them may have suffered burglaries from this direction in the past. These were the feelings of some residents who used to live behind me, and they were referring to previous experiences elsewhere.

But if you move in and find that the rear access would be very useful, there's probably no need to do anything more drastic than take a walk down it in the early hours with a knapsack sprayer filled with glyphosate . That's what I used to do with ours. Cost about 50p a go, and no one suspected anything.

AdrianC

KayTM wrote: »

I've heard that these alleys are often used for nefarious purposes

Depends on the area, of course...

After all, it's private land with no right of way.

Is it? You don't know.

ilikewatch

Where I live (and in many other areas) the council have an "alley gating" policy whereby if a majority of residents with access to an alley approach the council the council will pay to install a security gate, I guess it helps to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour.