Council claim land is theirs - do I have a case, or do I give it up?

AdrianC

ChrisH87 wrote: »

Planning was approved last year, that's not an issue any more

So you applied for planning for somebody else's land? That's very... kind... of you. But it certainly won't help any suggestion that the land is worthless...

ChrisH87

its always nice to have keyboard warriors chirping up every 5 minutes.

I don't know why I'm responding to you, but FYI the planning permission is completely unrelated and about 30m away from the land we are talking about.

Thanks for your concern 👍🙄

moneyistooshorttomention

I must admit I am getting more than a little aggravated every time I see the heading "Council claim land is theirs".

Errrr...hello....that's because it IS theirs. But I expect we will see a lot more "twisting and turning" and self-justification yet before this thread runs its course...:cool:

AdrianC

ChrisH87 wrote: »

FYI the planning permission is completely unrelated and about 30m away from the land we are talking about.

Oh, right. My mistake. I thought it must be actually related to the land in some way.

ChrisH87

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I must admit I am getting more than a little aggravated every time I see the heading "Council claim land is theirs".

Errrr...hello....that's because it IS theirs. But I expect we will see a lot more "twisting and turning" and self-justification yet before this thread runs its course...:cool:

But is it? If so, why has it been part of the garden at the property for a minimum of 30 years?

Bear in mind, the house is only about 50 years old - it may well have been part of the garden at the property for the entire 50 years?

ChrisH87

AdrianC wrote: »

Oh, right. My mistake. I thought it must be actually related to the land in some way.

Nope. I'm guessing when the council were looking at the application they visited the site, probably with the deeds in hand and that's the only reason this has been picked up. As I've said above, the land has potentially been part of the property since the property was built - I can't confirm that far back, but I can certainly confirm it for the last 30 years

ChrisH87

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I must admit I am getting more than a little aggravated every time I see the heading "Council claim land is theirs".

Errrr...hello....that's because it IS theirs. But I expect we will see a lot more "twisting and turning" and self-justification yet before this thread runs its course...:cool:

I forgot to say, I'm sorry for the pain and aggravation that I've caused you during your time on the Internet ��

marleyboy

I would do nothing. If they want the land by all means let them have it, but chances are they will not build on it or touch it other than declare it, up until they want to use it, treat it as temporarily your own.

They may even offer to sell the land to you, but unless they do I would just accept its their land and you are merely maintaining it for them.

stator

Regarding adverse possession of registered land:

in the event that the application is rejected but the squatter remains in adverse possession for a further two years, they will then be able, subject to certain exceptions, to reapply to be registered as proprietor and this time will be so registered whether or not anyone opposes the application

So all you have to do is wait until it's 10 years, then apply, the council will object, then you've got two years to wait and see if they take the land. If they don't you can then claim again and get it uncontested?
I'm not a gambling man but I wouldn't count on the council spending money to demolish a wall and put up a fence to take posession of a worthless piece of land in 24 months.
They'll probably send someone round to put up a fence, the contractor will have no access so a report will get sent back to the council and it will be stuck in beurocracy for a few years and meanwhile the clock is ticking and you might be able to claim it.

Davesnave

Doing nothing would be my first option here. I'd keep the land under control if it suited me and waste my time and money on legal matters only if pressed.

Situations like this are probably extremely common. I have a somewhat larger piece of land at the front of my property, which isn't on my title plan, but I maintain it, because no one else will. It's obvious that this land was once part of my property's hedge, grubbed-out to improve visibility for modern transport, but who did that and when is lost in the mists of time. There's no record of a transfer to the council, who'd no doubt use it if they wanted to widen the road, but as that looks unlikely, it'll stay as no man's land.