Turning part of my back garden into a parking space

Davesnave

smfdurham wrote: »

Also incase it's interesting, the car park gates are open except for one day a year when they close, when they close all residents are notified well In advance

This is done to prevent anyone claiming a right of way by use over time.
It's the same with prescriptve paths on private land .

It's also an indication that the owners are not willing to grant rights, despite having no general objection to public use.

System

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

That sounds like they know the law then. I would read their actions on that as being that they know this is being used as access and are prepared to tolerate it, as long as no-one is able to ever claim that its a ROW (hence that gate-shutting for one day a year). There is no way of them being able to say "I used it every single day for a year - so I'm a 'regular' user" (because they didn't - they only did so for 364 days and then their use got broken, before being given permission to re-start in effect by the unlocking of the gate again).

This is the same thing that my local church (and other churches/cemeteries) does to prevent the formation of a ROW.

Of course another side to this coin is, by doing this, the allotment owners are giving implicit permission for people to use it for the other 364 days thus frustrating any claim even more

MisterBaxter

By closing the gates at least once a year they are in effect showing that they are maintaining their rights over the land and that they can if they so wish prevent access at will. That is enough to counter any claim of rights should the matter be referred to Land Registry for a determination. The fact that they notify people is the evidence that they have maintained their interest and that they have not permitted unrestricted access.

The fact that the access is open every other day of the year is irrelevant and should be seen as nothing more than a convenience to those seeking to use the land. It is the maintenance of their interest that is the important part; they are not permitting unfettered access.

With this in mind the only real option available would be to seek a license agreement that would permit access without attaining any permanent rights.

force_ten

the closing of the gates is very important and it is the land owner restricting access to their land

as said you would never be able to claim a right of way due to sole and unrestricted use over a period of time

ideally you would need to go the the land owner and ask them if you can use their land as access to your property for the purpose of parking your car, they may allow you restricted access which will protect them against you establishing a permanent right of way or they may refuse access all together