Strip of land with new build not ours

MrsM71

The layout of the estate is such that the existing home (no 28) faces on to the road & has a large plot - being front garden, house & back garden. Our house (no 26) is L shaped so our front door also faces on to the road & our "back" garden is with in the L of the house meaning our back fence runs along the left hand side of no 28. We then have another house (no 1) which is technically at the back of our plot (off the main road & on the new road into the estate) which also has a continuation of this strip of land running along the back of their fence.

(Bit confusing I know - if anyone can give me some instruction as to how to post a picture of the title deed I will do).

According to the title deed plan there is a clear but very narrow & overgrown strip of land that runs between the hedgerow to the left of no 28 & along the entire length of the fence to no 26 (our house) & neighbours to our rear at no 1 & 2. It is not possible to walk through the strip of land as it is too narrow & overgrown. I guess it could give access from the road into the estate but it is so narrow that I do not think it would be possible to make it a walkway.

I spoke with the neighbour at no 1 last night. Even though the same strip of land runs between their fence & no 28 they have had no approach from the builder.

I am totally confused as to what the problem could be. The strip of land is outside our garden fence & is not shown as being within our boundary on the title deed plan. It appears that whatever the issue it affects only our property.

Will just sit tight & see if we hear from the builders again I guess.

Davesnave

You can include images by getting them hosted on an image site and inserting the code they give you into your post.

This is the host I'm currently using:

http://imgur.com/upload

MrsM71

Hopefully you will be able to see the extract from the plan using the link below.

The strip of land in question is between no 26 highlighted in red & no 28.

http://imgur.com/a/dxRtJ

armchaireconomist

As a bare minimum - providing their intentions aren't somewhat questionable - I would demand that they cover any and all legal costs, and if your involvement stretches beyond signing a few documents you want circa £1,000 goodwill for your troubles. This is there problem, not yours. The onus is not on YOU to resolve it.

martindow

Is it possible that the strip of land is a footpath or other right of way from the road on the right to the track or lane next to the Chequers? The planning may well have required the builder to retain this.

OP have you looked at the planning documents which you can probably view on your local authority's web site?

molerat

Do the deeds show as "area outlined in red and measuring xx" which could be the cause of the problem ?

MrsM71

No mention of a right of way on the planning documentation.

There is however extensive correspondence regarding the protection of roots to the trees & hedgerow bordering no 28.

The "problem" remains a mystery to me!

I think we will just forget about it now until such time as we hear anything further from the builder. If we do, a full explanation will be extracted from them & shared with you.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts & advice.

moneyistooshorttomention

All round and I would say you've answered your own question now.

It's not a mystery - it's all about protection of tree roots and the hedge (because the house to the side was there first and has demanded it).

With the builders being the "real" owners of this strip of land - then next door owner is sure owner of your house won't cut their hedge to shorter height/narrower width than they've decided on and their trees are safe from anyone digging down into their roots.

Problem solved as to what it's all about.

So the land would be no advantage to you anyway - as you'd be due to have to stick to what the builder agreed about their strip of land and you couldnt touch the hedge or tree roots.

I know of another strip of land of equivalent width that is there to protect the rights of next door owner to have their plants growing out over it and no-one has the right to trim them/have a go at their roots/etc - except the owner of those plants. So the strip does have a purpose - protecting next door's plants. Next door owner has a Right of Way up it to maintain their plants and no-one else is allowed to touch them.

MrsM71

I agree that it would certainly seem that any issue relates to protection of the neighbours trees.

I'm just not clear what it's got to do with us! The deeds do not show us as the owners. Am I missing something? How can we give something back that we have no ownership of?

:think:

tyllwyd

From what's been said, I don't think it applies in this case, but behind our house builders have left a strip of land about 3m wide because there is an oil pipeline underneath.