Planning Condition to stop up a highway. How?

bridgend_girl

Buying a vacant commercial premises with planning to convert to residential. Feeling overwhelmed with the steep learning curve and would appreciate some help please.

One of the conditions is that the small lay by which the business adjoins is 'stopped up' to provide a parking space for the property.

Planning have been no help when asked how do I do this, suggested i contact highways. Highways confirmed they don't own it but it is public highway and said I should ask planning. Conveying solicitor no help although vendor has confirmed that the premises have used the parking space for at least 30 years. Suggested I ask Land registry, they have no idea who owns it and suggested I ask planners or my solicitors. Spoke with planning specialist who said go back to planning.

No one seems willing or able to help me even start the process LOL. Without it I can't begin work to convert. So frustrated.

Advice gratefully received.

Barny1979

The land (subsoil) can be owned by a third-party, but the surface can be Highway Maintainable at Public Expense by the Local Authority. Highway rights will need to be removed (stopped up) to bring the space into private ownership. You should contact the Land Charges team, can you state which authority and I can add the appropriate link for you.

Barny1979

https://gov.wales/legislation/subordinate/nonsi/transwales/stopuporders/?lang=en

https://beta.gov.wales/stopping-up-diversion-highways

davidmcn

So it's not just stopping up which is the issue, but also acquiring title for (or at least the right to use) the parking space?

Barny1979

davidmcn wrote: »

So it's not just stopping up which is the issue, but also acquiring title for (or at least the right to use) the parking space?

It sounds like it is creation of a parking space within current highway, not a current space.

bridgend_girl

No mention of gaining title in the planning conditions so not sure. Also not in Wales thanks . Moving away to England.

Barny1979

bridgend_girl wrote: »

No mention of gaining title in the planning conditions so not sure. Also not in Wales thanks . Moving away to England.

Which Local Authority?

bridgend_girl

Wiltshire.

Barny1979

http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/highways-records

EachPenny

bridgend_girl wrote: »

One of the conditions is that the small lay by which the business adjoins is 'stopped up' to provide a parking space for the property.

Planning have been no help when asked how do I do this, suggested i contact highways. Highways confirmed they don't own it but it is public highway and said I should ask planning. Conveying solicitor no help although vendor has confirmed that the premises have used the parking space for at least 30 years. Suggested I ask Land registry, they have no idea who owns it and suggested I ask planners or my solicitors. Spoke with planning specialist who said go back to planning.

No one seems willing or able to help me even start the process LOL. Without it I can't begin work to convert. So frustrated.

I think the Planning Department might have created an impossible mission. As Barny1979 points out, ownership of the land a public highway is on doesn't have to be with the Highway Authority. On ancient highways the land under the highway up to the centre is usually owned by the adjoining property, but that general rule goes out of the window if there have been changes to the parcels of land over the years.

If there is no identifiable owner of the layby then the owner of the adjacent land (the development site?) might be able to stake a claim on it, but I don't think it would necessarily be easy to prove ownership. It could be argued for example that the parcel of land the layby is on was never included in a previous sale of the adjoining land (i.e. the original owner wanted to keep it).

If the highway is stopped up then public rights to use it cease to exist and only the legal owner has any rights over it. If that legal owner isn't you, then you cannot sell the parking space to the purchaser of the property being developed and therfore couldn't meet the planning condition.

I cannot see how anybody thinking of buying the property would do so not knowing whether they own the parking space (and taking it to extreme if the condition is not met the property could have to be demolished).

Unless proof of ownership of the layby can be proven, I'd guess the options are limited:-
1) The condition is varied so the parking space remains public highway controlled by the local authority, but with a sum of money paid by the developer to maintain it and to operate a permit scheme effectively reserving its use to that property (which itself is legally difficult)

2) The Council solve the land ownership question by taking it into public ownership - they should have the power to CPO land even if the owner is unknown (if they come forward later then they will be entitled to the compensation that would have been paid at the time). They would then be able to sell the land to the developer. But this will take time and money to do.

3) The developer takes the risk of assuming the land ownership is the the same as the development site and obtains any indemnities necessary in case a competing claim ever comes forward. One of the risks of this is if the land is next to the highway and not fenced off, then the possibility of future adverse posession is ruled out (afaik).

Just to add, I'm not a lawyer, but have dealt with some highways land ownership problems in the past. You need to seek professional advice before doing anything... possibly a solicitor with considerable highways/planning law experience rather than a general conveyancing one.

bridgend_girl

Thank you. The parking space is definitely not on the title deeds and the next nearest piece of land to the parking space (other than the premises I'm hoping to buy) is a kid's park.

Irony is the place is in a village with loads of parking spaces around. No shortage of somewhere to park but the planning has made it a condition to stop it up. The parking space is large and the other half has been added to the property adjoining the premises and has a land reg title number. Unfortunately this is now part of a deceased person's estate and no-one seems to know how they achieved this.