Garden Fence has been removed and destroyed

no.1swimmum

I am really sorry if this is in the wrong place, I wasn't sure where to post it.

At the rear of our garden there is a triangular shape piece of waste land that 3 different roads back onto. It has been unused for over 20 years and was extremely overgrown, and no one is sure who actually owns it.

On Monday there were men out there with large strimmers (it can only be accessed through a narrow alley) clearing the land, great we thought. DH went out yesterday as they had started a fire at 9.30 am to get out washing in! and asked them why they were clearing it, they didn't have good English and didn't know why they were doing it, they had removed the fence around the land. (there is an alley between this fence and ours about 2 foot wide).

When I came home from work today, I discovered that our back fence has been removed and it now appears to have been burnt on the ongoing fire. I will admit that it wasn't in the best condition, and had been attacked by the weeds etc from this waste land, and we were constantly clearing them away from it. I spoke to the men, who said it had fallen down, absolutely not - and it was not good so they took it down! I asked who they were working for, as they did not have permission to do this but they either didn't know or wouldn't tell me. They were quite intimidating, and got right into my face and kept shouting it was no good, etc I am 6" tall and they towered over me, and were big built men. It would appear that we are not the only home owners whose fence has been removed and destroyed I think that there are 3 of us.

There is now nothing to stop anyone coming into our back garden, I am anxious now about our security and will try to get it replaced in the next week or so, (an expense we could really do without at the moment) but I wondered if there is anything I can do to find out who owns the land and who is responsible for these workers.

moneyistooshorttomention

The Land Registry should have a record of who the owner is.

I would hazard a guess that it's either the builder that built your houses in the first place - and that's just an odd bit of land that was sort of "left over" and couldnt be incorporated into any of your gardens.

The other possibility, I guess, might be the Council.

Either way - lob a few quid in the direction of the Land Registry and there should be a record of who owns it hopefully. I'm assuming your houses are new-ish - and therefore all got modern-day Register entries/Title plans. If that's the case - then this bit of land should too.

patman99

You should go onto the land registry website and search to find the owner of the land (also, look on your local Council planning portal to see if any planning applications have bee lodged).
Once you have the owner's details, you can send them the bill for replacing YOUR fence that THEIR contractors removed and destroyed.

You might have to take them to Court, but do not back down at any stage.

As for clearing the land, they may have been forced into it by the Council if the Council had had loads of complaints about the state of it.

stator

You should have called the police to report the criminal damage. The police would have gotten their names.

Davesnave

stator wrote: »

You should have called the police to report the criminal damage. The police would have gotten their names.

As none of the 3 parties affected seem to have done this, it would be sensible to get together now and pursue the matter as a group.

Report the criminal damage to the police, who may not be very interested, but will at least log the incident, especially if the workers were intimidating.

Legal action would be for compensation via small claims, always bearing in mind the likelihood of the other party actually paying up, but if they can afford 'contractors....'

no.1swimmum

Thank you all so much for your replies, your help is really appreciated.

I have reported the Criminal Damage to the Police and got a reference number.

I am however having no luck finding the owner of the land, as it is not actually on a named road, its where the 3 roads gardens meet, I am unable to search the owner without an address. I have paid for and look at the details of the two houses either side of the alleyway. An no mention was made on either of the land. Both of these properties are rented out, so I have the names of the owners but no address details to contact them.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5349696,0.0935016,311m/data=!3m1!1e3
this is the link tot he google map showing the area its where the Gardens of Devon Road, Eastbury Avenue and Harrow Road back onto, with access via an alleyway from Harrow Road. I have also searched local council planning permission for all 3 roads to see if they are planning on building there, but there is nothing. So still at a loss to know how to find out the owner.

paddy's_mum

Fence the whole plot yourself and consider applying for Adverse Possession.

I'd put money on this being the first step for someone doing just that or planning to put another house or two on the site.

AnnieO1234

You need to do a map search on land registry, basically it pulls the map up and you draw a line around the land in question, nothing to do with addresses xxx

no.1swimmum

Thanks again, everyone.

I have the map search up but it is just giving me details of the houses surrounding the land not the land itself. I have tried searching various areas but nothing.

Thank you anyway.

TBagpuss

You could try writingto the council - attach a copy of the plan with the land marked on it and ask them to confirm that this is their land. Don't initially mention the damage, just ask about ownership.

Have you applied for an Index Map search of the piece of land? https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-property-and-land/search-the-index-map you can do this without an address, provided that you provide a clear plan (use the one you got from them shpowing your house, do a B&W photo copy and thn mark the edge of the relavent land in red) and an OS Map Reference (your local library should have the OS maps if you don't have your own)
The LR will then give you a title number if the land is registered and you can then apply for the ofice copy entires which should show the owner.

If you know who built your hosues then you can write to the developer with a copy of the same map and ask them to confirm whether they own this piece of land.

meanwhile, take photos, and if you pay to get your fence replaced get three quotes first and then keep all quotes and invoices.

bmthmark

Just looked at the map you provided. I can see the triangle area, it appears to be quite a big area.
I reckon someone that backs on to the property from one of the roads is claiming the land. Maybe with the thought of building a small property on it, the only problem they would have is access to the property. I can only see a small gap coming off Devon road, but it looks like some garage or workshop is in the way.
Its the property with the black fence (with no parking signing) and barbed wire on top - opposite number 5, they could potentially knock the garage down for access.
Personally I would speak to the owners opposite number 5 (sorry can't get the number off google maps) and ask if they know whats going on.
Good luck and keep us updated